As a reminder, negotiations regarding the EU Framework Agreement between the Swiss government and the European Union broke down in May 2021.
The framework agreement, created in 2018, was primarily intended to resolve issues of concern to the EU, including questions about dispute settlement between the two parties and the adaptation by Switzerland of EU rules.
When talks resumed after a three-year hiatus in March 2024, Switzerland’s wish-list included, among other issues, participation in EU research programmes and a new agreement in the electricity sector — both of which have now been achieved.
What has Switzerland accomplished so far?
The two parties have said they wanted to wrap up the negotiations by the end of the year.
With little time left, this is what Switzerland ‘gained’ and what still remains to be finalised, according to Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
Immigration
Brussels assured Bern that Switzerland will be able to continue deporting EU nationals who are convicted of serious crimes.
This issue had to be worked out because, under the 2018 framework agreement, this was a sticking point.
The most contentious issue, however, has been Switzerland’s insistence on maintaining its safeguard clause, which the government could activate to curtail, under certain circumstances, immigration from the EU.
READ ALSO: Why are EU and Switzerland in deadlock over 'safeguard' clause on immigration?
Has this now been resolved?
“Right at the end, the EU promised to make concessions,” SRF reported.
But “what exactly this will look like and how much it will actually affect immigration will only become clear from the outcome of the negotiations.”
Next: The Guillotine
Be assured that nobody’s heads will fall, either in Switzerland or within the EU.
The need for the ‘guillotine’, however, will fall.
This is a rather unfortunate term which basically paves the way to a new dispute resolution model between Bern and Brussels.
Previously, this was regulated by the 2018 framework agreement, which encompassed all the agreements negotiated by the two sides.
Now, disputes — should they occur — will be resolved separately.
Switzerland will also be able to withdraw from individual agreements without endangering other treaties.
European Court of Justice (ECJ)
While right-wing factions, like the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), are against European courts exerting any influence on Switzerland, the new treaty stipulates that whenever Switzerland participates in the EU internal market, the country would have to abide by ECJ’s rulings.
Give-and-take
Switzerland will adopt developments in the EU’s internal market if it participates in it via an agreement. However, Swiss parliament or voters can reject this move in specific cases.
Also, Bern can have a say in the development of EU's legislation, though not a say in actual decisions.
READ ALSO: What are the 'cohesion payments' Switzerland pays to the EU?
A concession Switzerland will make:
Switzerland will be contractually obligated to make a ‘cohesion contribution’ to poorer EU states, amounting to hundreds of millions of francs per year.
Previously, the contribution was voluntary and lower.
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