Switzerland and the European Union have reached a “good and mutually beneficial agreement,” Swiss President Viola Amherd said on December 20, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the agreement “historic.” .
Shortly before, the Swiss government had given the green light to the agreement, which strengthens economic cooperation with the European Union, but the road to its definitive adoption is still long. The text will in fact have to be approved by the federal assembly and Swiss voters.
On 20 December Amherd and Von der Leyen met in Bern to formalize the conclusion of the negotiations.
“The long and complex negotiations took into account the interests of Switzerland and the European Union in a balanced way,” said Von der Leyen. “The agreement provides for Bern to participate in the European single market on equal terms”.
It took hundreds of meetings between representatives of Brussels and Bern to reach agreement on a series of bilateral agreements.
Unlike previous negotiations, which aimed to reach a general framework agreement, this year's negotiations were based on a sectoral approach, with the aim of updating existing bilateral agreements and concluding new ones in the field of electricity and healthcare.
“Act of submission”
But it will be necessary to convince the Swiss federal assembly and above all the electorate, who will have the last word in a referendum with an uncertain outcome.
The centrist Democratic Union (UDC, populist right), which has a relative majority in the federal assembly, denounced an “act of submission to the European Union”.
The Swiss Trade Union Union (SSU), the country's main trade union, had recently called for further negotiations, arguing that the text under discussion would cause a reduction in wages.
The union expressed strong concern especially over the agreements in the railway and electricity sectors.
