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After the announcement of the definitive negotiating mandate between Switzerland and the EU, the domestic political ranks are far from closed. The SVP and the trade unions are announcing fierce resistance, while the FDP and the Center are warning that the negotiations will fail.
The starting signal for negotiations between Switzerland and the EU has been given. Both parties have published their official negotiating mandates and Federal President Viola Amherd is traveling to Brussels next Monday.
Switzerland is looking forward to the coming negotiations, which are due to be concluded in autumn 2024. The EU ambassador to Switzerland, Petros Mavromichalis, is optimistic that it will succeed this time. He told the “Arena”: “I am confident that an agreement will be signed this time. Because both sides want this contract package.”
If you listen to the “Arena” guests on Friday evening, it becomes clear: there is a lot at stake. Center National Councilor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter sees Switzerland’s prosperity at risk if no agreement is reached. FDP Council of States Matthias Michel agrees and emphasizes that regulated relations with the EU are particularly important for the economy.
For SVP Vice President Magdalena Martullo-Blocher, nothing less than Swiss democracy is at stake. She doesn’t think much of the Federal Council’s negotiating mandate. In their opinion, this would mean that Switzerland would completely submit to the EU. SP National Councilor Fabian Molina is in a positive mood. “But there are questions that still need to be clarified domestically.”
“Starting negotiations like this is irresponsible”
There is a noticeable need for clarification on the subject of wage protection. Specifically, it is about instruments that Switzerland uses to prevent wage dumping. “Wage protection is at great risk. Starting negotiations with the EU like this is irresponsible,” says the president of the Unia union, Vania Alleva. She expects the Federal Council to take a “clear stance” on wage protection, and she criticizes the employers’ associations for not making binding concessions in the numerous discussions.
The director of the Swiss Employers’ Association, Roland A. Müller, counters: “We also want to protect wage protection, but we don’t want to expand it, as the unions would like.” There has also been “massive progress” and it’s currently just a matter of details.
One of these details, for example, is the expense regulation. The EU wants the expenses of an EU employee working in Switzerland to be reimbursed according to the rules of their country of origin. The unions fear that this will lead to wage dumping. The employers’ association shares this opinion: “We have a common denominator,” says Müller.
Electricity agreement: Federal Council wants an electoral model
In the new negotiating package, Switzerland would like to, among other things, negotiate a new electricity agreement with the EU in order to ensure access to the European electricity market. This is particularly important for Schneider-Schneiter von der Mitte because “without this agreement we will have a problem with security of supply,” she says.
The Federal Council is aiming for a kind of partial liberalization. This would mean that consumers could decide whether they want to buy electricity from the regulated basic supply or on the free market.
Without an electricity agreement with the EU, we will have a problem with security of supply.
A “win-win situation,” says FDP Councilor of States Michel. “It is crucial that the regulated basic supply remains guaranteed,” emphasizes Molina. He even suggests that Switzerland should negotiate the electricity agreement at a later date if the EU does not accept this demand.
SVP National Councilor Martullo-Blocher is critical of the fact that Switzerland even wants to conclude an electricity agreement with the EU. She fears that electricity could become more expensive and more unstable. “And the EU would also dictate to us when and how we could use our hydroelectric power plants to produce electricity.”
According to Martullo-Blocher, there is a general risk in the current negotiation package that the EU could impose its law on Switzerland. She is particularly critical of the arbitration tribunal, which is mandated to decide in the future if there is a legal dispute between Switzerland and the EU. What is particularly controversial is the role that the European Court of Justice could play in dispute resolution.
However, the “Arena” guests of the other parties see more advantages than disadvantages in the arbitration tribunal, as it would protect Switzerland from arbitrary punitive measures by the EU. The Federal Council and the EU Commission want to sign the agreement as early as autumn 2024. In Switzerland, however, the electorate will have the final say.