EU seeks commitment from Swiss to resolve differences in relationship


European Commission VP Sefcovic attends video conference after meeting with Switzerland's Foreign Minister Cassis in Brussels

The European Union urged Switzerland on Monday to set out a clear timetable for resolving issues over its place in the EU internal market by January after breaking off talks with its biggest trading partner in May.

Brussels has been pushing for a decade for a treaty that would sit atop a patchwork of bilateral accords and have the Swiss routinely adopt changes to single market rules. It would also have provided a more effective way to resolve disputes.

Maros Sefcovic, the European commissioner overseeing EU-Swiss affairs, told a news conference on Monday that the EU's door remained open, but that "it takes two to tango".

"What we now need from Switzerland is the unambiguous political will to engage with us on the real issues that count and a credible timetable. In other words, any political dialogue must be focused and substantial," he said after a meeting with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignacio Cassis.

The European Union wants Switzerland to agree to dynamic alignment of its laws with EU law, a level-playing field, a mechanism to settle disputes and regular contributions to EU funds for poorer EU members.

"We will meet again in Davos in the second half of January to assess the progress. By then, we will see whether a true political commitment is there," Sefcovic said.

One of the earlier impacts of the impasse has been on Swiss scientists' participation in the Horizon Europe, the world's largest research and innovation funding programmes with a budget of 95 billion euros ($108.7 billion).

Sefcovic said Swiss researchers and institutions could continue to participate, but they would not be able to access EU taxpayers' money until other issues are resolved.

The Swiss government aims to deploy transitional measures to make up for the funding shortfalls.

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