BERN: The Swiss Federal Council has concluded that a free trade agreement with the European Union (EU) would be a step backwards and cause uncertainty.
The Council was responding to the postulate of Council of States member Karin Keller-Sutter. The postulate mandated the Federal Council to analyze the pros and cons of an FTA between Switzerland and the EU and compare the proposal with the current bilateral agreements.
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In the resulting report, the Council considers a “comprehensive free trade agreement” scenario based on the concept that easier EU market access is feasible without the need for Switzerland to incorporate EU law or equivalent regulations through harmonizing legislation.
The Council said that Switzerland’s bilateral agreements with the EU have created conditions for Swiss suppliers in a number of areas that are similar to those of an internal market. By contrast, an FTA without harmonizing legislation would rule out certain areas of market access, such as technical barriers to trade, customs security, the free movement of people, and the mutual facilitation of market access in certain service sectors. Negotiating the inclusion, in an FTA, of each element of the current bilateral agreements would depend on the willingness of both parties and would need to meet the interests of both sides.
