EU, Switzerland Hold Dialog for Enhanced Cooperation

The European Union and Switzerland want to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation. These issues are at the center of ongoing negotiations between the Swiss government and the European Commission. It announced a renewal of contacts that began in 2021 but failed.

Their goal is to update agreements on free movement of people, mutual recognition of certificates of conformity, land and air transport, and agriculture. By the end of 2024, the two sides also hope to agree on energy, food safety, and health issues.

Switzerland borders four EU states (Italy, Austria, Germany, and France), with cross-border ties being particularly strong. The Union is Switzerland’s first trading partner, and Switzerland is the EU’s fourth most important partner. One and a half million EU citizens live in Switzerland, and hundreds of thousands of people cross the Confederation’s border every day for work.

“Today a new chapter begins in our relationship with Switzerland, based on renewed trust and willingness to engage between partners and neighbors,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “I am pleased that negotiations to renew our partnership can finally start, based on a common understanding, for the mutual benefit of EU and Swiss citizens and businesses.”

Diplomat Patric Franzen will lead the negotiations on behalf of Switzerland, while Richard Szostak will be the EU representative. In Switzerland itself, there is a debate between those who would like greater integration with neighboring countries and thus with the EU and those who would prefer to anchor the country’s historical isolationism.