Keystone-SDA
Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis discussed by telephone on Saturday with European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic “the final stages” of the ongoing negotiations between Switzerland and the European Union. The conversation was fruitful, writes Ignazio Cassis.
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December 14, 2024 – 4:06 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) On platform X, the federal councilor adds that the two men took stock of the progress of the negotiations. And his interlocutor underlines, also on X, “the immense efforts of our teams” in the negotiations. They “work hard” to strengthen relations between Switzerland and the EU. “We stay in touch,” Mr. Cassis concluded.
Negotiations on the future of bilateral relations between Switzerland and the EU are in a “delicate phase”, a spokesperson for the European Commission declared on Friday. Ideally, they should be concluded before the end of the year, indicated a spokesperson for the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), contacted by the Keystone-ATS press agency.
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Recently, we could read in the Swiss media that all issues relating to the negotiations had been resolved, with the exception of the contribution to the cohesion fund. This must be settled at the political level, that is to say between MM. Cassis and Sefcovic. Several sources confirmed this information to Keystone-ATS.
In their writings on X, the two men did not specify whether the amount of the cohesion contribution that Switzerland pays to the EU to obtain access to the European internal market had been discussed during the telephone conversation. Questioned by Keystone-ATS, Mr. Cassis’ spokesperson did not comment more precisely on the content of the discussions.
Switzerland and the EU have been in discussions for almost nine months to redefine their future relations. A conclusion of the negotiations is expected next week.
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