The negotiations with the European Union on a framework agreement to regulate relations are currently on hold, but Switzerland remains “a committed and strong partner to the EU and its European neighbors”. This was assured by the Swiss Federal President Ignazio Cassis today during his inaugural visit to Vienna as part of a joint press conference with Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. He regretted the current standstill “very”.
Bern broke off negotiations on the framework agreement in May 2021. The European Commission is calling for new Swiss proposals in January. Cassis assured in Vienna that Switzerland wanted to continue on the “bilateral path” in relation to the EU, for example with regard to the internal market. “Even if there are differences.”
Van der Bellen: “The EU also needs Switzerland”
A quick elimination of the differences with Brussels is not foreseeable, as the 60-year-old politician of the Swiss Liberals (FDP) suggested to Swiss television following the official press conference: “It is now a moment of patience. It would certainly be wrong, if one had negotiated a topic for 15 years and had no result, to start once more the next day. Now you have to think regarding what went well, what went bad, and how do we prepare for a new round. “
Van der Bellen said it was important that a workable agreement was reached soon. The current situation is not advantageous for either side. “It’s not that only Switzerland needs the EU, no, the EU also needs Switzerland.”
On a bilateral level, Cassis also met with European Minister Karoline Edtstadler and National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (both ÖVP). There was no meeting with Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) because he was at the informal EU Foreign Ministers Council in France. A personal meeting with Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) was also not possible because he has to isolate himself until the weekend due to a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Telephone call with Nehammer
But there was a phone call following which Nehammer said: “We have very close human, economic, political and cultural relationships. We will continue to deepen our relationships in many areas as part of a strategic partnership. We would like to continue to work for the closest possible relationship between Switzerland and the EU. That is our mutual interest. “