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EU calls for new deal with Switzerland

The European Union is unhappy with Switzerland's practice of negotiating sector-by-sector accords, a policy which the EU says has reached its limits and should be reviewed.

Published: 20 December 2012 19:25 CET

EU calls for new deal with Switzerland

Photo: Paivi Tittanen

EU relations with Switzerland, the most important of the four European Free Trade Area (EFTA) states, should now be given a proper institutional form, a statement from the EU said on Thursday.

Switzerland is the EU's third largest trade partner but was alone among EFTA members, which include Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, to be singled out for criticism by the EU which noted progress in its ties with the three others.

The other three EFTA countries are part of the EU internal market through the Agreement on a European Economic Area (EEA), which took effect in 1994.

But Switzerland opted to conclude bilateral agreements with the EU in a range of areas, including movement of persons, transport and technical barriers to trade.

Switzerland's policy of participating in more and more areas of EU policies and programmes through such sectoral agreements "has reached its limits and needs to be reconsidered," Thursday's statement said.

The EU said it wanted to put in place a framework "applicable to all existing and future agreements," which would also provide a legally binding mechanism to cover their implementation.

In June, Switzerland had proposed that this function could be met by its Federal Tribunal but the EU feels that this would not be a fair judge of disputes and their remedies.

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Why does Switzerland have to comply with European court rulings?

In a landmark ruling handed down on April 9th, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg sided with a group of Swiss pensioners who ‘sued’ the country for not doing enough to mitigate the effects of global warming.

The ECHR ruled that Switzerland had violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the “right to respect for private and family life,” and ordered the government to pay the complainants a fine of €80,000 (78,555 francs).

READ ALSO: Who are Switzerland’s victorious climate ‘Elders’?

While environmental groups and a number of political parties welcomed the verdict, questions also arose about why Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, must comply with the decision handed down by the Council of Europe’s court.

This fact was not lost on the populist, anti-EU Swiss People’s Party (SVP).

One of its MPs, Jean-Luc Addor, questioned not only the court’s judgment, but also the fact that foreign judges have ‘meddled’ in Swiss matters.

“What is the legitimacy of the ECHR to pronounce such a ‘condemnation’?,” he asked.” Is it now going to send the European army to Switzerland?”

So why is Switzerland obligated to conform to the ECHR’s judgment?

In 1974, the country, though neutral, signed the European Convention on Human Rights.

As the European court was established expressly to monitor the parties’ compliance with the provisions enshrined in the Convention, Switzerland must heed its judgements. (The ECHR hears only matters related to human rights. It does not handle any criminal cases).

To ensure that rulings are just and impartial, the ECHR’s judges come from the 46 countries that ratified the Convention.

Switzerland is represented by Andreas Zünd, who has served on the ECHR since January 2021.

How do Swiss cases end up in front of ECHR judges?

Switzerland has different court levels: district, cantonal, and federal.

Complainants first file their cases in the district court. If they are not happy with the verdict, they can appeal it within 30 days, at which point the case will go to the higher judicial level, that is, the cantonal court.

The next step up the judicial ladder is the Federal Supreme court, the highest judicial authority in Switzerland.

Headquartered in Lausanne, it is the final instance on all appeals against decisions of the cantonal courts.

But though this final judgment can’t be appealed in Switzerland, the case — if it relates to rights outlined in the Convention — can be taken to the ECHR.

READ ALSO: What you should know about Switzerland’s courts

What ‘Swiss cases’ have been judged by the European court?

The climate activists’ case is the latest of dozens of rulings involving complaints from Switzerland.

Some of the other successful ones involved a widower whose pension benefits were denied by a Swiss court; a Romanian woman fined for beginning in Geneva; and a Sudanese man who won his appeal against deportation from Switzerland.

You can see all the ECHR rulings for Switzerland (in German or French) for the last 45 years here.

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