Switzerland and the EU resume negotiations
The European Union and Switzerland are seeking to reach a new agreement on their bilateral relations. Bern made its negotiating mandate public on Friday, while the EU Council gave the green light on Tuesday. Talks are set to begin in March. Switzerland broke off the negotiations for a framework agreement in 2021. The Swiss press is by no means in agreement on whether the new initiative is a good idea.
A suicide mission
The SonntagsZeitung rips into Switzerland's approach:
“First of all, it's a rookie mistake that the mandate for the negotiations in Brussels is already on the Internet. Naturally our negotiating partner can also read it. ... The fact that [Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio] Cassis wants to negotiate with the EU when he has neither the trade unions, nor the [EU-sceptical, right-wing populist] SVP, nor the political centre behind him is political suicide at the European level. Cassis is clearly lacking in the art of forging alliances. ... The way things look now, failure in a referendum is certain. One can only speculate as to why Cassis is doing this to himself. It's also puzzling that the Federal Council has given the green light for such a suicide mission.”
The status quo is also risky
There is no harm in seeking a new agreement, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung counters:
“Switzerland would stabilise its ties with its most important partner and with its neighbours. ... A close, but not too close relationship with the EU remains the most promising way forward. A pure free trade agreement along the lines of the British model is not an alternative for a country with 16 cantons bordering the EU. The status quo is being questioned in Switzerland and abroad, and relying on it is risky. The SVP is planning new initiatives that target existing bilateral agreements. The EU is in the process of undermining the treaties with its policy of erosion. This combination of factors increases the risk of ending up in a mess.”