Sviss segir nei við "Sambandið", ekki þörf á frekari viðræðum

Ef marka má fréttir hefur Sviss ákveðið að slíta viðræðum þeim sem það hefur átt við Evrópuambandið og hafa staðið yfir síðan 2013.

Kröfur "Sambandsins" um "frjálsa för fólks" og þannig fullan aðgang að Svissneskum vinnumarkaði virðist vera það sem viðræðurnar slitnuðu á.

Sviss er fjórði stærsti viðskiptaland "Sambandsins", en það er stærsti viðskiptafélagi Sviss. Aðeins Kína, Bandaríkin og Bretland eru eiga meiri viðskipti við "Sambandið".

Þannig að það er ekki hægt að segja að Evrópusambandið eigi í auðveldu sambandi við sín stærstu viðskiptalönd.

"Seven years of negotiations finally ended with nothing

Switzerland said “there is no agreement” to Brussels’ demands for freedom of movement and withdrew from seven years of tortuous trade negotiations with the European Union on Wednesday.

Bern pulled out after years of difficult single market access talks reminiscent of the European Commission’s Brexit negotiations with the UK over the past four years.

“The Federal Council today made the decision not to sign the agreement, and communicated this decision to the EU. This brings negotiations […] to an end, “the Swiss government said.

“There are still substantial differences between Switzerland and the EU on key aspects of the agreement. Therefore, the conditions for signing the agreement are not met, “he said after a cabinet meeting.

The commission, which negotiates on behalf of the 27 EU member states, said it took note of the “unilateral decision.”

“We regret this decision,” he said of the decision to “end” the negotiations, which began in 2013.

Swiss ministers blamed the EU’s demands for full access to its labor market, even for those seeking work. They said it could have led non-Swiss citizens to obtain social security rights in the country."

...

"EU officials said access to the single market depends on acceptance of Brussels rules and regulations, including free movement and the jurisdiction of the European Union Court of Justice.

They accused Bern of “choosing” after Swiss negotiators refused to give in to their demands for “a level playing field” on issues such as state subsidies and regulatory alignment.

They had demanded a dynamic alignment, with Swiss rules automatically changing to follow those of the EU over time.

An EU official said that without the agreement it would be impossible to negotiate new access to the single market and that existing access would “erode” over time as existing agreements age."

Sjá hér.

"

Politically, the Swiss rejection of the agreement deals a huge blow to the Commission, which has been heavily investing at the highest level to make the deal work — first under former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and then his successor Ursula von der Leyen, who both personally took charge of the file. Juncker said in 2019 that one of the three "biggest regrets" of his tenure was his inability to finalize the deal with Bern.

Brexit had complicated the talks as the Commission’s hard negotiating position toward the U.K. government on issues such as protecting the EU's single market meant that Brussels did not want to be perceived as being more flexible with the Swiss.

Von der Leyen had been hoping to take a big step toward completing Juncker's task when she met Swiss President Guy Parmelin last month, but instead, the meeting failed to bridge differences on three key areas in which the Swiss demanded exemptions: state aid rules, EU citizens' ability to access the Swiss welfare system and protection of higher Swiss wages. Right-leaning Swiss politicians argued that without concessions in these areas, the agreement would be at risk of being voted down in a referendum.

The Commission has rejected such exemptions as "simply not acceptable," arguing that Switzerland's "privileged access" to the EU market means it must abide by similar rules as the bloc's member countries: "That is fundamentally a matter of fairness and legal certainty." An EU factsheet said the bloc had wanted to keep the door open to further negotiations and claimed that Brussels "formulated compromises which go a long way towards the Swiss concerns.""

Sjá hér.

...

"The Swiss government has highlighted three issues: protection of wages, rules governing state aid, and the right of EU citizens working in Switzerland to claim Swiss welfare benefits as part of freedom of movement.

Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said Switzerland could not accept EU demands for equal rights for EU workers as it would have meant an unwanted "paradigm shift" in Switzerland's migration policy. The government also feared it could lead to higher social security costs."

Sjá hér.

Það verður fróðlegt að sjá hvernig spilast úr þessu.  Evrópusambandið virðist eiga í vaxandi erfiðleikum að ná samningum, ekki síst við sína næstu nágranna.