Scrapping years of hard work, Switzerland has scrapped a draft 2018 treaty meant for replacing all the existing bilateral agreements with the European Union (E.U.), under one single framework deal.
Switzerland is not a part of the E.U. but has more than 120 bilateral deals with the bloc. It has also signed up for several of E.U.’s policies, such as freedom of movement.
Faced with stiff domestic opposition to the pact, the Cabinet said it would break off talks and try to turn the page with the bloc.
Speaking on the occasion, the President of Switzerland – Guy Parmelin said, “We are opening a new chapter in our relations, hopefully a fruitful one.”
A statement from European Commission read, “We regret this decision, given the progress that has been made over the last years.”
The E.U. said that without an E.U. – Swiss framework agreement, modernising that 1972 signed free trade agreement, would not be possible. Existing deals were not up to speed and the impact of Switzerland’s decision would have to be analysed.
The E.U. had demanded protection of wages, rules governing State aid and the right of E.U. citizens working in Switzerland to claim Swiss welfare benefits as part of freedom of movement. The Swiss Government could not accept E.U.’s demands for equal rights for E.U. workers as it would have meant an unwanted paradigm shift in Switzerland’s migration policy. The government also feared it could lead to higher social security costs.
The problem is that a lot of bilateral agreements will go out of date and so Switzerland will lose access to the E.U. market. For instance, one bilateral deal on trade in medical technology products and the Swiss MedTech organisation lapsed this week. It would cost the industry 114 million Swiss Francs (£ 90 million) and 75 million Swiss Francs every year afterwards.
Meanwhile, the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) is happy with the scrapping of talks as it thinks it to be a victory for Swiss self-determination. Besides, the trade unions have also welcomed the decision as they were concerned about the impact of wage protection and public services on local labour.
On the other hand, the President of Socialist political party – Roger Nordmann termed the day as ‘Black Wednesday’.
Reacting sharply to Roger’s remarks, Parmelin rejected the term ‘Black Wednesday’ and said he hoped for a fruitful reset in relations with the bloc. He said that even without the treaty, Switzerland and E.U. remain first-class partners.
