Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Swiss president sidelined by EU leader

Alain Berset in front of the Europa Building in Brussels
Berset had hoped for a meeting with European Commission President Juncker to discuss an impasse in bilateral negotiations. Keystone

The Swiss president, Alain Berset, has stressed the importance of the partnership between Europe and Asia as a key factor in strengthening multilateralism around the world.

Attending a summit of more than 50 European and Asian leaders in Brussels on Friday, Berset also met representatives of several countries to discuss bilateral and international affairs.

An interior ministry statement highlighted talks between Berset and the prime ministers of Russia, Spain and Thailand as well as government ministers from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

However, there was no formal meeting between Berset and the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

Berset told journalists in Brussels that it had not been possible to agree a date to review the situation after negotiations between the EU and Switzerland over a so-called framework accord hit an impasse on Tuesday.

He stressed it was important to exchange opinions at a political level even if the technical negotiations are not over. He reiterated Brussels had never set a formal deadline by mid-October for the four-year negotiations on an accord cementing the bilateral relations.

More

More

Switzerland’s special EU deal

This content was published on Some Brits believe Switzerland has benefited from the bilateral approach. The Swiss-EU treaties give Switzerland direct access to the best parts of the EU: trade, transport and science projects – plus visa-less travel around Europe.  One thing the UK has in common with Switzerland since Brexit is coming to a vote: using direct democracy to…

Read more: Switzerland’s special EU deal

swissinfo.ch with SDA-ATS; urs

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR