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Lost the overview in the EU file? We say what buzzwords you need to know now, and we translate what the politicians mean and disguise them.
Immunization? Restart? Or just in a bad mood? The last appearance of the Federal Council on European policy was more than a year ago. But only now is a decision on the issues pending.
Photo: Peter Schneider (Keystone)
Switzerland and the EU have been fighting for the framework agreement for so long that a language of its own has developed for it.
Now the Federal Council has to decide how to proceed with this delicate file, possibly as early as today, Wednesday. So it is time for a dictionary to translate the Bundeshaus speech into normal German.
Federal Council, the
Swiss body with seven members. He is deeply divided on the EU issue, but pretends to be following a strategy. Hesitate to make a decision about it → Framework agreement for the last two years of course.
Reset, there
New Italian for restarting negotiations on that. → Framework agreement. First used by current Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis when he ran for Federal Council in 2017. Since then, the term has stuck to Cassis like bubble gum on his flowery sofa. So far, R. has only developed a homeopathic effect. Now a possible R. is in conversation again. See → Growing impatience.
Chancellor Ignazio Cassis explained the Swiss-European relationship on the basis of the basic components of his 100-day balance sheet in Lugano in February 2018.
Photo: Pablo Gianinazzi (Keystone)
Framework agreement, the
The hottest iron in Swiss foreign policy. Also called Institutional Agreement, InstA for short. The EU requires a R. as an umbrella over bilateral treaties. The R. regulates the adoption of a new EU law by Switzerland in five market areas (see→ Dynamic legal adoption) and what to do in case of dispute.
Growing impatience that
Negotiations have been taking place since May 2014, and the draft InstA has been on the table since the end of 2018 (read the text here). In June 2019, the Federal Council of the EU announced in a letter (Read the letter here), the agreement would not have a majority without clarification. Since then, the EU has been waiting for concrete solutions rather than a new one.→ Restart.
Brexit effect that
Core belief of InstA opponents. He says British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will negotiate such a good exit deal with the EU that Switzerland will get a more advantageous InstA in his wake. Experts consider such B. to be political esotericism: Brexit is even disadvantageous for Switzerland because it has toughened up the EU.
Sovereignty that
“Independence of a state (from the influence of other states)”: InstA’s advocates consider this definition by Duden to be misleading; They see the agreement as a safeguard for the S. because it provides the neighboring EU that dominates the binding rules in case of conflict. SVP super dad Christoph Blocher, on the other hand, talks about a “submission contract” that would end the S. of Switzerland. See also→ Dynamic legal adoption.
Dynamic adoption that
Example of diplomatic creativity. It describes Switzerland’s obligation to adopt future EU legislation, whereby the parliament and the people can decide on any changes to the law, as opposed to the automatic R. However, in case of rejection, the EU could→ Twistsmassnahmen confiscate. It should not be confused with autonomous implementation, where Switzerland adopts EU law on its own.
Vaccination that
Current trend term in federal Bern. It raises associations with Covid-19, but refers to InstA, which some also consider a dangerous disease. Intentional meaning: Switzerland should try to → Transfer of rights and the influence of → Court of Justice of the European Union being excluded in politically sensitive areas such as wage protection, the EU Citizens Directive and state aid. See also → Islands.
Islands that
Flowery variant for → immunization. Presented by an NZZ editor specializing in political poetry. Usage: Like islands in a river, multiple policy areas must be excluded from the InstA. The term has the advantage that it does not resemble Covid-19, but rather the special Swiss case and the → Brexit effect.
European Court of Justice, the
Abbreviation: ECJ. Guardian of European treaties, described as “foreign judges” in the context of InstA. Switzerland itself proposed the ECJ in 2013 as a bilateral arbitration body, but in 2017 it asked for a bottom-up arbitration tribunal. Critics consider E.’s role in InstA toxic and demand one → Reset.
Renegotiations that
Formal discussions on a draft that the contracting parties have already designated as ready. The EU rejects N. In terms of domestic politics, N. represents the second highest level on the scale of dissatisfaction: this ranges from “abandon negotiations” (“very dissatisfied”: SVP) to “renegotiations” (“quite dissatisfied” : CVP, union, unions) and “clarifications / clarifications” (“Quite satisfied”: Federal Council, cantons, FDP, SP, Economiesuisse) until “sign” (“very satisfied”: Green Liberals, BDP). See also → clarifications.
Clarifications that
Political concept of obfuscation, synonymous with → Renegotiations. Swiss politicians invented the K. after the EU declared that the InstA negotiations had ended at the end of 2018.→ Federal Council In a letter, a “dialogue” was requested with the aim of “clarifying” or “specifying” some passages of the contract. The conceptual confusion allows everyone involved to make the highest rhetorical demands, while at the same time leaving the back doors open for later retreats.
Retention measures that
Punitive actions by the EU in case Switzerland rejects the InstA. In 2017, the EU Commission was the first to reject the unlimited recognition of the Swiss stock exchange; more universities and researchers were able to meet. Furthermore, the EU may hamper exports by not updating the TBT agreement. Today there are no rules for R. The InstA would allow Switzerland to have R. verified by an arbitration court.
