Switzerland, EU talks end in stalemate

GENEVA

Switzerland ended talks Wednesday with the European Union without signing a long-sought-after deal, said the country’s government.

“The Federal Council today took the decision not to sign the agreement and communicated this decision to the EU,” the government said in a statement.

“This brings negotiations on the draft of the [framework agreement] to a close,” it added.

Switzerland is not an EU member and cited a lack of progress on three key points, which have hindered progress since the draft deal was finalized in 2018.

The stumbling blocks include state aid rules and the access of EU citizens to Swiss social security benefits.

The government said it still considers it in the shared interest of Switzerland and the EU “to safeguard their well-established cooperation and to systematically maintain the agreements already in force.”

The agreement sought to realign five major agreements within 120 bilateral accords that lay down relations between the EU and Switzerland.

The failed talks brought to an end seven years of efforts between Switzerland and the EU to craft an overarching treaty to replace the one that has regulated relations for the past decades.

As an alternative, the government wanted to continue to “cultivate and develop” Switzerland’s partnership with the EU on the existing bilateral agreements.

With a population of 8.6 million people, Switzerland said it proposed to launch a political dialogue with Brussels to pursue future common priorities.
It also pledged to try and ensure that the Swiss cohesion fund contribution, a key demand of the EU, would be released “as soon as possible.”