Interview with Jean Russotto, a Brussels-based Swiss lawyer, after his visit to the FSPI in November 2023 and his presentation: “La relation Suisse-UE: À la recherche du temps perdu”. (Interview translated from French)
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After the failure of negotiations on the framework agreement in 2021, and the recent resignation earlier this year of Livia Leu (State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and chief negotiator on the European dossier), one might have thought that negotiations between Switzerland and the European Union had come to a standstill. Yet the Federal Council has just announced the end of exploratory talks with the EU and the adoption of a draft negotiating mandate, while President Macron made a high-profile visit to Switzerland in November. Was the feeling of deadlock a false impression, or has the situation changed?
I would say the stalemate was very real, as positions diverged so widely. After a real stalemate, Switzerland went through considerable institutional and other steps, without any assurance that the EU would approve the new package approach. What’s more, Switzerland was unsure of whether it had the support of the constituted bodies and the population. Hence the complete absence of an argument, a vision of the Swiss-EU relationship and its future. However, the adoption of a negotiating mandate is on the cards. The entry into force of a new agreement, or more precisely a set of agreements, is not yet foreseeable.
The European question was relatively absent from the recent federal election campaign. How do you explain the absence of the European question in public debate in Switzerland today? Is there a strategic depoliticization of this issue? Is the election result, with the SVP on the rise as Switzerland’s largest party, likely to have an impact on the forthcoming negotiation process?
The lack of interest in European politics during the election campaign can be explained simply by the fact that the EU is rarely a vote-winner. Voters’ concerns lie elsewhere, on everyday issues such as healthcare costs, security and immigration. An understandable reflex, but one which highlights the fact that these concrete concerns are detached from the EU and its objectives – and that, in reality, they are also the reality of the EU’s internal market, our most important economic partner. A distressing dichotomy.
The UK recently rejoined the Horizon Europe research and innovation program – from which Switzerland has been excluded since the end of the Framework Agreement negotiations. Do you think the Brexit – and post-Brexit UK-EU relations in general, have had any impact on negotiations between Switzerland and Europe, or on the mutual perception between the two parties?
It took Switzerland a long time to conclude that the so-called British, post-Brexit model could come to the rescue of a new European policy for Switzerland. The failure of the Brexit, followed by a possible return of the UK to the Horizon programs was a reality check: the only structural And perennial links for Switzerland in Europe involve a close association with the EU. No other solution exists.
The many crises faced by Europe since its creation have often been factors in greater integration. Do you think that recent global upheavals and crises – whether COVID-19 or the outbreak of war in Ukraine – have had an impact on Swiss-European relations?
Without a doubt, these various events and crises have left their mark on people’s minds in Switzerland, and beyond, reinforcing the idea that Switzerland must remain united, at all levels, in a Europe that is fundamentally questioning itself.
As a Brussels-based Swiss lawyer, how do you see the future of Swiss-European relations? You entitled your presentation at the FSPI “The Swiss-European relationship: In search of lost time”: do you think, then, that the two sides are now moving towards a more “pragmatic” approach, and de facto towards overcoming the points of divergence – an overcoming long-awaited by some?
Yes, the title of the conference means that the immense amount of time lost by Switzerland over almost 15 years has not been entirely wasted. However, this time has not yet been regained, but everything leads us to believe that a new Swiss policy is in place – for when, nobody knows, but the omens are positive. Qui va piano va sano, but let’s not fall into the trap of perfectionism, because time is running out and sectoral bilateralism must not be further eroded.