Guy Parmelin President of the Confederation

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by Tiziana Di Giovannandrea

26 May 2021 The Framework Agreement will not be signed. Switzerland has decided to close the ongoing negotiations on relations with the European Union and not to conclude the Agreement.



This was announced by the Swiss government. President Guy Parmelin, speaking at a press conference, announced that the Confederation "puts an end" to the negotiations on the agreement that aims to homogenize the legal framework for Switzerland's participation in the single market of the European Union and to establish a settlement mechanism of disputes.



According to the Federal Council, which met on the same day, the conditions on the legal adaptation to participation in the European single market, for a conclusion of the Agreement, are not met. Hence the decision not to sign it and to notify the European Union. The President of the Confederation Guy Parmelin informed the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in writing of the decision taken by the Swiss executive after having consulted and heard the foreign policy committees of the Federal Assembly and the cantons. The social partners were also informed. 



However, the Swiss government believes that it is in the common interest of Switzerland and the EU to safeguard the tried-and-tested bilateral approach and to carry forward the existing agreements with conviction. For this reason it wants to start a political dialogue with the European Union on the continuation of the collaboration.



EU, regrets Swiss stop to single market agreement


"We had made progress in recent years," the EU Commission wrote in a statement. "We regret the decision of the Swiss government given the progress made in recent years to transform the institutional framework agreement into reality" the European Commission continues in its note "the EU-Switzerland institutional framework agreement was designed as a basis for strengthening and developing bilateral relations for the future. Its main purpose was to ensure that anyone operating in the EU single market, to which Switzerland has significant access, was on the same terms. This is fundamentally a question of fairness and legal certainty. " Brussels explains that "privileged access to the single market must mean compliance with the same rules and obligations",recalling that for this reason, in 2019, the European Union insisted on making the institutional framework agreement "essential for the conclusion of possible future agreements on the further participation of Switzerland in the single market". This agreement "would have allowed a consolidation of the bilateral approach and guaranteed its sustainability and further development". At this point, the Commission specifies, "without this agreement, this modernization of our relations will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age. 50 years have passed since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, 20 years since the Bilateral Agreements I and II. Already today I am not in step with what EU and Swiss relations should and could be ".the European Union insisted on making the Institutional Framework Agreement "essential for the conclusion of possible future agreements on Switzerland's further participation in the Single Market". This agreement "would have allowed a consolidation of the bilateral approach and guaranteed its sustainability and further development". At this point, the Commission specifies, "without this agreement, this modernization of our relations will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age. 50 years have passed since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, 20 years since the Bilateral Agreements I and II. Already today I am not in step with what EU and Swiss relations should and could be ".the European Union insisted on making the Institutional Framework Agreement "essential for the conclusion of possible future agreements on Switzerland's further participation in the Single Market". This agreement "would have allowed a consolidation of the bilateral approach and guaranteed its sustainability and further development". At this point, the Commission specifies, "without this agreement, this modernization of our relations will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age. 50 years have passed since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, 20 years since the Bilateral Agreements I and II. Already today I am not in step with what EU and Swiss relations should and could be ".Institutional framework agreement "essential for the conclusion of possible future agreements on Switzerland's further participation in the single market". This agreement "would have allowed a consolidation of the bilateral approach and guaranteed its sustainability and further development". At this point, the Commission specifies, "without this agreement, this modernization of our relations will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age. 50 years have passed since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, 20 years since the Bilateral Agreements I and II. Already today I am not in step with what EU and Swiss relations should and could be ".Institutional framework agreement "essential for the conclusion of possible future agreements on Switzerland's further participation in the single market". This agreement "would have allowed a consolidation of the bilateral approach and guaranteed its sustainability and further development". At this point, the Commission specifies, "without this agreement, this modernization of our relations will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age. 50 years have passed since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, 20 years since the Bilateral Agreements I and II. Already today I am not in step with what EU and Swiss relations should and could be ".further participation of Switzerland in the Single Market ". This agreement" would have allowed a consolidation of the bilateral approach and guaranteed its sustainability and further development ". At this point, the Commission specifies," without this agreement, this modernization of our relations will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age. 50 years have passed since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, 20 years since the Bilateral Agreements I and II. Already today I am not in step with what EU and Swiss relations should and could be ".further participation of Switzerland in the Single Market ". This agreement" would have allowed a consolidation of the bilateral approach and guaranteed its sustainability and further development ". At this point, the Commission specifies," without this agreement, this modernization of our relations will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age. 50 years have passed since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, 20 years since the Bilateral Agreements I and II. Already today I am not in step with what EU and Swiss relations should and could be "."Without this agreement, this modernization of our relations will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age. It has been 50 years since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, 20 years since the Bilateral Agreements I and II. Already today I am not at the in step with what EU and Swiss relations should and could be "."Without this agreement, this modernization of our relations will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age. It has been 50 years since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, 20 years since the Bilateral Agreements I and II. Already today I am not at the in step with what EU and Swiss relations should and could be ".