GENEVA: Bern signalled Wednesday readiness to resume talks with the EU towards a cooperation agreement, after shocking its largest trading partner in 2021 by suddenly cutting short years of negotiations.
The Swiss government, known as the Federal Council, said it had given the green light during a closed session Wednesday to “draw up key parameters for a negotiating mandate” with the European Union.
It said in a statement the foreign and justice ministries, along with the ministry of economic affairs, education and research, had been asked to prepare such parameters by the end of June. At the same time, “work will continue to clarify common ground with the EU in order to start negotiations”.
Ties between Brussels and Bern have been strained since Switzerland suddenly decided in May 2021 to end years of discussion towards a broad cooperation agreement with the bloc.
EU-Swiss ties are currently governed by a patchwork of agreements, and for more than a decade discussions were ongoing towards an overarching accord that would have harmonised the legal framework governing the relationship.
But the talks hit an impasse after the EU refused to budge on Swiss demands to exclude key issues relating to state aid, wage protections and freedom of movement.
Since then, Switzerland has been trying to pick up the pieces and establish common ground with Brussels through so-called exploratory discussions.
So far, eight rounds of such exploratory talks have been held, with the next such discussions due on April 20, Bern said in Wednesday’s statement, adding that technical talks were also taking place on a weekly basis.
“These have led to a detailed understanding of both sides’ positions and possible solutions in the individual dossiers,” it said.
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