“The main goal of the Switzerland-EU Committee is to contribute to the restoration and continuation of a stable and lasting relationship between Switzerland and the EU – in a climate of trust,” writes the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Belgium on Sunday in a statement.
The committee is seen as a “reflection platform” for future relations between Switzerland and the EU, it said. The committee, which includes several experts, is chaired by Jean Russotto, a Brussels-based Swiss lawyer.
The committee was originally founded in 1982, but ceased its activities after the signing of Bilaterals II in 2004.
It has now been reactivated due to the aborted negotiations on the institutional framework agreement between Switzerland and the EU in May 2021. Because the committee rates “the possible social, economic consequences and the political damage” as so great that it wants to deal with the Switzerland-EU dossier again.