Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

EUROPEAN UNION

Minister casts doubt on Swiss-EU agreement anytime soon

Finance minister Ueli Maurer says he does not believe Switzerland and the European Union will be able to conclude a framework agreement for some time.

Published: 26 January 2018 11:21 CET

Minister casts doubt on Swiss-EU agreement anytime soon

Doris Leuthard and Jean-Claude Juncker met in Bern last November. File photo: Peter Klaunzer/AFP

In an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper, the rightwing politician said that Switzerland should instead focus on improving its bilateral agreements with the EU, of which there are over 100.

Maurer’s comments come just days after foreign minister Ignazio Cassis, speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, repeated the government’s intention to conclude an agreement as soon as possible.

The planned framework agreement would resolve certain institutional questions regarding Switzerland's bilateral arrangements with the EU, for example the role of EU courts in dispute resolution.

Maurer warned against rushing to conclude the agreement before the EU has finalized Brexit negotiations with Britain, saying it was not the Swiss way to proceed so quickly.

Last November then Swiss President Doris Leuthard held a meeting in Bern with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker aimed at making progress on the institutional framework accord, which they had hoped to complete by the end of 2017.

But just before Christmas, a row broke out between the two sides that will have to be dealt with before they can move forward with negotiations.

Leuthard slammed an EU decision to limit Swiss financial access to its markets as “discriminatory”.

Next Wednesday the federal government is expected to set out its negotiation strategy with the EU, the Swiss news agency SDA reported.

Switzerland sees record high immigration from European countries

Lots of data indicates that Switzerland needs foreign workers to fill job vacancies.

Now a report from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) confirms the importance that employees from the European Union and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) have had for Switzerland’s labour market and economy in general.

That is why “demand for foreign labour was strong in Switzerland in 2023,” SECO said in its annual report published on Monday, which assessed the impact that the Free Movement of Persons agreement (FMPA) has had on the country’s employment.

In 2023, 68,000 people from EU and EFTA countries came to work in Switzerland, according to SECO, driven by “employment growth that has significantly exceeded the EU average.”

Why does Switzerland need EU / EFTA workers?

Simply put, they are needed for the country’s economy to function optimally.

As SECO pointed out, while the number of pensioners is growing (due mostly to Switzerland’s exceptionally high life expectancy), “Swiss working-age population has experienced only slow growth over the past 20 years.”

“The country’s economic growth is not possible without immigration,” said Simon Wey, chief economist at the Swiss Employers’ Union. “We need foreign labour if we want to maintain our level of prosperity.”

READ ALSO: How EU immigrant workers have become ‘essential’ for Switzerland

In what sectors is the need for these workers the highest?

“A large number of people from the EU coming to work in Switzerland are highly qualified and are employed in demanding activities in high-growth branches of the service sector, such as the branch of special, scientific and technical activities, that of information and communication or the health sector;” SECO’s report said.

But the Swiss economy also recruits EU nationals as low-skilled labour, particularly in the hotel and catering industry, as well as construction and industry.

Why are only people from the EU / EFTA states recruited?

The reason is that, unlike nationals of third countries, people from the EU / EFTA have an almost unlimited access to the Swiss employment market, thanks precisely to the FMPA.

Also, those coming from the neighbour countries (as most of Switzerland’s foreign labour force does), have the required language skills to easily integrate into the workforce in language-appropriate Swiss regions.

Url copied to clipboard!