Swiss President Alain Berset greets Petros Mavromichalis, ambassador to the EU on January 11, 2023, in Bern.
Keystone / Peter Schneider
The Swiss government could make a decision on the negotiating mandate in the European Union dossier next Friday.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA
Petros Mavromichalis, the EU ambassador to Switzerland, expressed his optimism in an interview with the newspaper Le Temps on Sunday evening.
“The risks of failure are lower this time”, said Mavromichalis in the online edition of the French-speaking Swiss daily.
He added that the EU and Switzerland had come closer on the outstanding issues. The most sensitive issues from a Swiss perspective, such as wage protection, workers’ rights and state aid, had been clarified in the exploratory talks. But: “We do not yet have a draft agreement,” the EU ambassador continued.
Mavromichalis, who will leave his post in nine months’ time, went on to say that it would be feasible to conclude an agreement in the time remaining “if we start negotiations in March as planned. But we will have to show political will and determination”.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Culture
Wealth is not all: how gentrification in Zurich has led to housing shortage
Swiss government rejects proposed super-rich inheritance tax
This content was published on
Switzerland’s government rejected a proposal to jack up inheritance taxes on the super rich, diminishing the chances of the plan passing in a national vote.
Swiss government wants to ban swastika in crackdown on extremist symbols
This content was published on
The Federal Council wants to ban the Nazis’ swastika emblem in public as well as other symbols associated with the Third Reich. Anyone who flouted the law would be fined CHF200 in future.
Switzerland greenlights use of self-driving cars on motorways from March 2025
This content was published on
From March 2025, drivers will be allowed to use self-driving technology on Swiss motorways and let go of their steering wheel.
Swiss justice minister discusses plight of Syrian migrants in Brussels
This content was published on
Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans met his European counterparts in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the situation of Syrian asylum-seekers in Europe. Jans called for coordinated action by European states.
Swiss companies invest more in their foreign subsidiaries
This content was published on
In 2023, Swiss-companies invested more money in their foreign subsidiaries than they withdrew for the first time since 2018.
Federal Court clears Swiss journalist in 3D-printed gun case
This content was published on
The Federal Court has acquitted a journalist from Swiss public television, RTS, who had been fined over a TV investigation into the dangers of 3D-printed weapons.
Rising healthcare costs remain the greatest concern of Swiss residents
This content was published on
The rising costs of healthcare and health insurance premiums remain a major concern for Swiss residents, a survey published on Thursday shows. Other major worries are the environment and pensions.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.