Camilla Alabor and Simon Marti
It took a few hours for the shock to be digested. Then parliamentarians from several factions went to work. After years of working hard to find a solution to the problematic relationship with the EU, they do not want to let the Federal Council get away with the break in negotiations that was ordered on Wednesday.
The summer session of the federal councilors, which begins tomorrow, will thus be a gauntlet for the government. Green liberals and SP will demand an up-to-date debate in the National Council. GLP party leader Jürg Grossen (51, BE) and SP parliamentary group president Roger Nordmann (48, VD) confirm this to SonntagsBlick. If they get through with this, parliament will debate the end of the framework agreement in the third week of the session.
And about the continuation of the bilateral path: “We demand clarity about the so-called Plan B. What the state government presented on Wednesday,” said Nordmann, “is simply insufficient.” The SP parliamentary group leader has already formulated a postulate that requires the Federal Council to examine European policy options – “regardless of political feasibility”. In Nordmann’s venture, Switzerland’s accession to the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA) also appears.
According to GLP boss Grossen, the coming weeks will show in which direction it could go: “For me, joining the EEA is an option that needs to be seriously examined.” The Bernese Oberland emphasizes that the Federal Council’s approach must be investigated because it simply ignored parliament. “In the future, this must no longer happen with such important topics.”
unity
Several foreign politicians from other parties are in agreement on this. They are all calling for the events to be dealt with that goes far beyond a parliamentary exchange of blows – and casts doubt on the legitimacy of the government’s decision of May 26th.
SP National Councilor Eric Nussbaumer (60, BL) is “decidedly” of the opinion that the Federal Council did not have the right to break off negotiations so abruptly. «The conclusion of a framework agreement is anchored in the legislature objectives. This is a federal decision. Only parliament can change that, ”he says.
The Federal Council also assured the Foreign Affairs Commission that it would be consulted before breaking off negotiations. “That was a lie, we were not consulted about the decision to cancel,” said the Basel bidder. There is a lot of frustration involved. But the SP National Council is not a politician who frivolously uses terms such as “lies” or “breach of law”.
Investigation inevitable
Nussbaumer is certain: “Sooner or later the audit committee will deal with the decision of the Federal Council.” If only to prevent the government from going over parliament again and acting arbitrarily.
In fact, Parliament’s business audit commissions have the authority to review the past few months in the Federal Council. “It seems to me inevitable that a detailed investigation will follow,” says the free-spirited National Councilor Christa Markwalder (45, BE). “Just as the GPK will take a close look at the Covid policy, the European policy should also be worked through up to the termination of the negotiations on the framework agreement.” Markwalder makes it clear that she has invested a lot of time and energy in identifying possible solutions and is convinced that a degree would have been possible.
The Federal Council disregarded its own resolutions, the positions of the foreign policy commissions and the cantons, as well as the common legislative goals: “We cannot simply ignore this with a clear conscience.”
The Insta may be off the table. The pressure on the Federal Council remains high.