Switzerland’s ‘special relationship’ with the EU explained

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal with the EU was confirmed late last month and then came into action on January 1 – but it received mixed reviews. Conservative Party allies – including the eurosceptic European Research Group of Tory MPs – backed the deal, saying it preserves UK sovereignty. Nigel Farage branded the deal a “betrayal” to fishermen, but later threw his support behind it, saying it’s “not perfect but, goodness me, still progress”. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer whipped his MPs to vote for the deal, but branded it “thin”.

However, in Switzerland, it appears some feel the deal is a sign of encouragement as Bern continues to negotiate its own relationship with the EU.

For years, Switzerland has been trying to negotiate with Brussels over an institutional framework agreement – presenting similar conundrums to the Brexit debate in the UK.

One figure in Bern, Hans-Peter Portmann from the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party, highlighted the envy in Switzerland as he demanded the Swiss government include the Brexit deal in the next talks with the EU in January and “not go below the level that Britain has now”.

Roger Koppel of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party tweeted: “Boris Johnson got it right. Negotiated hard, no submissiveness, deal reached – without foreign lawmakers and foreign judges.”

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Autonomiesuisse, a committee of entrepreneurs in Switzerland, wrote in a statement that the Brexit deal shows that the country can take on the EU in the next round of negotiations.

They said: “Overall, the sovereignty policy issues in the Brexit negotiations were largely settled in the way Autonomiesuisse is seeking for the Switzerland-EU framework agreement.

“The Brexit agreement shows that there is potential for negotiation with Brussels.”

However, European Law professor Christa Tobler challenged these claims, saying that “apples are being compared to oranges”.

She argued the UK’s situation is very different to that of Switzerland’s.

Swiss-EU relations were boosted in September when the country rejected the prospect of limiting freedom of movement between Switzerland and the bloc.

Negotiations for the partnership began in 2014, but still Bern and Brussels continue to work together on only a patchwork of treaties.

There are three issues that are still the subject of heated debate. One is a system that would enable “dynamic” updates of the bilateral agreement, another is its design, and the third is the introduction of a court to settle future disputes.

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Guy Parmelin, the Swiss economy minister, warned in 2019 that the country could instead seek to work with the UK if an arrangement with the EU couldn’t be met.

He said: “We want a good solution that can win majority support, and that is not the case at the moment.

“I think the EU would weaken itself if it no longer cooperated with Switzerland on research.

“We are then forced to seek alternatives, perhaps along with Britain, if the EU remains dogmatic.”

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