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Relations between the European Union (EU) and Switzerland have traditionally been close and friendly, but they have also been subject to repeated fundamental discussions about the form of cooperation. After the first free trade agreement, which both sides concluded in 1972, more than 120 agreements were to follow - in the wake of the "No" to the ratification of the EEA Agreement in 1992 - which strengthened relations with one of the EU's most important economic partners and simplified cross-border cooperation. Thus, despite insisting on its national sovereignty, which manifested itself several times in the past decades in the rejection of accession talks to the European Union, Switzerland has privileged access to the European Single Market, is part of the Schengen Area and of course participates in numerous European projects such as "Erasmus+". In May 2021, the negotiations on an institutional framework agreement between the EU and Switzerland, which had been ongoing for seven years, were unilaterally broken off by the Swiss Federal Council. The institutional framework agreement should have been the basis for an improvement and further development of bilateral relations between the two sides, which would have placed special emphasis on equal conditions in the EU's internal market. As a result of the failure of the negotiations, bilateral relations will now continue to be shaped on the basis of agreements that are several decades old and - according to the European Commission's assessment - can hardly be modernised.
Which key points were decisive for Switzerland to discontinue negotiations on the institutional framework agreement with the European Union? What role did domestic political developments in Switzerland play? How can EU-Swiss relations be formed after the discontinuation of negotiations and what is their general significance?
The event "KAS Europe Talks: EU-Switzerland Relations between Rupture and New Beginnings" will take place on Wednesday, 07 July 2021 from 11:00-12:00 CET via Zoom. We are looking forward to discussing the above-mentioned topics with our colleague Dr. Olaf Wientzek, Director of the Multilateral Dialogue Geneva of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. After the discussion between Dr. Wientzek and Dr. Hardy Ostry, Director of the European Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, the audience will have the opportunity to contribute their questions to the discussion. The event will be held in German and will be simultaneously translated into English.
To participate in the event, please register under this Link.
