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The USAM, which fiercely opposed the framework agreement with the EU that was ultimately abandoned, now says it is ready for more openness with Brussels. “In the future, we will attach more importance to future treaties with the EU,” says its president Fabio Regazzi.
These future treaties are essential for many SMEs, continues the advisor to the Ticino States in Le Matin Dimanche and the SonntagsZeitung.
“We too often forget that, in addition to large groups, 40% of SMEs work in exports,” he explains. If we let old agreements with the European Union weaken instead of renewing them, exports to the EU will become more and more complicated.
The president of the Swiss Union of Arts and Crafts (USAM) is also concerned about the lack of labor in Switzerland. “I experience it within my company. For months, we have been looking for an accountant. You have no idea how difficult it is,” he says.
“Ready to consider compromises”
Fabio Regazzi says he is confident that his umbrella organization will accept the package of agreements that the Federal Council is currently negotiating in Brussels. “We are fully prepared to consider compromises,” he says, provided that salary protection is 100% guaranteed.
As for other aspects on which the USAM was reluctant until now, such as the role played by the European Court of Justice in disputes between Switzerland and the EU, they are now put into perspective. “We no longer have any objections in principle on these points,” said its president.
In March, USAM sent a sign in favor of the negotiating mandate adopted by the Federal Council, welcoming its approach. The umbrella organization had previously strongly opposed the framework agreement with the EU abandoned by the Federal Council in 2021. It judged that the text made too many concessions.
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