Negotiations between Switzerland and EU to begin

Negotiations governing the relations between Switzerland and the EU are due to start in the coming weeks after EU member states approved a mandate for talks.

The adoption has been delayed after Swiss voters supported limiting EU immigration, which would violate a 1999 agreement on free movement.

Initial contact between the two chief negotiators – the EU’s David O’Sullivan and Switzerland’s Yves Rossier – has begun, but the formal opening of negotiations has not yet been scheduled. An official told reporters that negotiations would likely take between a few months and one year.

Switzerland’s participation in Horizon 2020 remains suspended whilst the country will not formally extend free movement to Croatia, the Union’s newest member state. The Swiss Government feels it cannot allow that due to the immigration referendum.