EU Parliament calls for more trust between Switzerland and EU

The European Parliament in action on Wednesday Keystone / Julien Warnand

The EU Parliament in Strasbourg has adopted a report on Switzerland calling for “more trust between the EU and Switzerland based on greater transparency”.

On Wednesday the European parliamentarians (MEPs) approved the report by 538 votes to 42 with 43 abstentions and regretted that the Swiss government would not decide on a negotiating mandate until the end of 2023 and referred to “the short window of opportunity” because of the European elections in mid-2024. They called on both sides to reach an agreement by then.

However, as long as there is no agreement on the deal package, numerous bilateral agreements between the EU and Switzerland are “at risk of being undermined”, they continued, referring to the Swiss medical technology industry.

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In addition to the new deal package, however, the free-trade agreement also needs to be modernised, as does a modern investment protection agreement.

Adoption of EU sanctions

With regard to Russia’s war of aggression, the EU Parliament welcomed Switzerland’s joining the EU sanctions and called on it to adopt them systematically. It also praised the cooperation in military areas and the Swiss wish to participate in the European air defence system Sky Shield.

On the other hand, it regretted that Switzerland “prohibits the re-export of Swiss-made ammunition and war materiel from EU member states to Ukraine”.

At the same time, the EU Parliament encouraged the Swiss government to allow the “confiscation of Russian assets” and called for Swiss participation in the G7 taskforce.

In the area of trade, the relationship with Switzerland is so close that it goes beyond mere “economic integration”. Therefore, “the smooth functioning of the internal market must be ensured”, which is not the case with the free movement of people, the MEPs criticised.

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However, they also took note of Switzerland’s concerns. The EU is also committed to “combating abusive working conditions”. One could therefore “consider the application of temporary, fixed-term or security measures, based on EU law, for a certain period of time”.

Technical solution for energy

In their report on Switzerland, the MEPs also expressed concern about the lack of an electricity agreement between Switzerland and the EU. This poses risks for the European electricity grid. They therefore called for “technical solutions at the level of transmission system operators and the inclusion of Switzerland in the EU’s capacity calculation”.

In the area of research, the EU Parliament called for transitional rules for Swiss participation in the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme after the adoption of the negotiating mandate.

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola is now called upon to forward the report to the other EU institutions as well as to the Swiss parliament.

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