“The EU is not a neoliberal project”

The debate about the framework agreement has shown how bad the EU’s image is among parts of the Swiss left. Trade unionists and SP exponents stylized the EU Commission and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) downright as enemies. “No sensible person goes to Brussels to discuss wage protection with the neoliberal hardliners,” railed Council of States and former union president Paul Rechsteiner. The SP, which is now flirting with EU membership again, wrote in 2016: “The European Union is characterized by a neoliberal, undemocratic spirit that lacks solidarity”.

On Friday evening, Nicolas Schmit, the EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, tried to take countermeasures in Zurich. The Luxembourg social democrat spoke at an event organized by the Swiss Society for Foreign Policy and the European Institute of the University of Zurich. Schmit’s name may not be known to many in Switzerland. His colleague Maros Sefcovic is responsible for the bilateral dossier. However, Schmit deals with questions such as wage protection, which was a sticking point in the failed framework agreement.

Equal pay for equal work

Schmit admitted that there was a policy of deregulation in the EU because the member states wanted it. After the excesses of the financial crisis, the EU and in particular the former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker made corrections. The social vein of the internal market is now indispensable. “European unification is not a neoliberal project.” The ECJ has also evolved.

The EU Commissioner referred to the revised Posting of Workers Directive of 2018. This brought about a breakthrough for better social protection and anchored the principle of “equal pay for the same work in the same place”. In addition, the EU Commission has created a European labor market authority to combat abuses in cross-border mobility. Brussels is also working on a legislative proposal for a European minimum wage. However, the EU member states are primarily responsible for social policy.

The role of the court

Schmit had kind words for Switzerland. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine showed that we share the same democratic values.” The EU Commission is currently analyzing the Bundesrat’s proposals for European policy. He wants to solve the old disputes with Brussels individually in the bilateral agreements. “We are ready to respond to concrete proposals that are legally and politically viable for both sides,” said Schmit.

But the EU Commissioner was tough on the matter. “The benefits of the single market cannot come for free,” he said. Without a systematic solution, the bilaterals would continue to erode. Schmit pointed out that legal norms in the EU are interpreted by courts and not by politicians. If the legal system collapses, Europe will collapse too, he said, referring to the dispute between Brussels and Warsaw.

After his speech, Schmit held a discussion with Monika Rühl, the director of the economic umbrella organization Economiesuisse, and the SP national councilor Eric Nussbaumer. The Basel bidder presides over the New European Movement Switzerland (Nebs), which is still striving to join the EU. Nussbaumer undoubtedly knows the bilateral dossier very well, but within the left has an above-average level of understanding for Brussels’ position.

The event would also have been an opportunity for a debate between Schmit and a union representative. However, this was not planned, even if the SP co-president Cédric Wermuth was in the audience. So it was up to Vasco Pedrina, the first co-president of the Unia trade union, who was also present in the room, to ask Schmit critical questions.

Pedrina referred to the fear that the joint wage controls of the social partners would no longer have been possible with the framework agreement. At least on this point, Schmit was willing to compromise. One could discuss the modalities of the controls, he said.