“We are in the final stretch,” declared Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis regarding negotiations with the EU, before his meeting with the senior European official. “This visit clearly means that important steps have been taken,” he added.
“So far, so good”. However, there are still things to discuss, “in terms of content and procedure”. The free movement of people and the provision of a safeguard clause are, for example, still open, he mentioned.
“State of play”
The meeting with Mr. Sefcovic was not a round of negotiations. The exchange above all made it possible to draw up a political assessment of the negotiations, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) indicated late in the evening.
MM. Cassis and Sefcovic noted that negotiations were well advanced in most areas of the package. They discussed the remaining open issues and reaffirmed their commitment to successfully completing negotiations on a set of balanced solutions, the FDFA continues.
“If the quality of the content of these is satisfactory, the objective is to conclude by the end of the year,” indicates the press release. The head of the DFAE repeated again in the afternoon: “Quality before speed.”
Asked about the amount paid to the EU for cohesion, Mr Cassis said that money issues will be addressed at the end of the negotiations. Switzerland pays this contribution to the EU to have partial access to the European internal market.
Ignazio Cassis was accompanied by chief negotiator Patric Franzen as well as state secretaries Alexandre Fasel, Helene Budliger and Christine Schraner Burgener. EU chief negotiator Richard Szostak was also present. MM. Cassis and Sefcovic agreed to remain in regular contact in order to closely follow the final phase of the negotiations.
Vote not before 2026
Since the summer, concrete progress has been made in particular in the area of European programs, such as Horizon Europe. The free movement of people, on the other hand, gave rise to more difficult discussions.
The negotiations were kicked off in March in Brussels by the President of the Confederation Viola Amherd and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Since then, chief negotiators have held more than 170 negotiating sessions.
As soon as the negotiations between the EU and Switzerland have been initialed, the Federal Council will forward the file to Parliament. If he approves the agreement, the file will be submitted to the people. A popular vote is expected no earlier than fall 2026.
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