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Former Swiss state secretary to advise government on EU

EU dossier: Mario Gattiker advisor to the Federal Council.
EU dossier: Mario Gattiker advisor to the Federal Council. Keystone-SDA

Former Swiss state secretary Mario Gattiker has been asked to serve as advisor to the government on future relations with the European Union.

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Gattiker has received a corresponding mandate, according to simap.ch, the information platform on public procurement in Switzerland.

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According to the portal, the assignment will be remunerated with CHF230,000. The decision to assign him this task was made on February 21. An appeal can be filed with the Federal Administrative Court within 20 days.

The contract required “extremely specific skills.” Only the appointee possesses them and there is therefore “no alternative,” according to the reasons for the decision.

Gattiker has “many years of in-depth knowledge” of European politics. He is also “very familiar” with finding compromises in domestic politics because of his previous role.

He was secretary of state at the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) between 2015 and 2021. In this post, the 69-year-old was involved in the implementation of the mass immigration initiative, which is closely linked to the European dossier. After his time at SEM, he drafted a report on the differences between EU and federal law.

A request for clarification from the Keystone-ATS agency to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for the EU dossier, has so far gone unanswered. The news was revealed by 20Minuten.ch.

Translated from Italian by DeepL/mga

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