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Compared to its purpose, the New Swiss European Movement (Nebs) has so far been a single failure. The longer the organization with its just over 3,000 members exists, the further Switzerland will be from joining the EU.
Four years ago, the Federal Council officially withdrew the application for membership. But the newly appointed president of Nebs and national councilor of Baselbieter SP, Eric Nussbaumer, does not lose hope.
One of the last “Euroturbos”
Switzerland is at the center of Europe and is involved in this important treaty called the EU. You have to help shape this. “Europe, as I know it today, means: prosperity, peace, opportunities for further development and solidarity among us.”
I have long overcome the argument that the EU is bad and Switzerland is good.
Nussbaumer, who has been on the SP National Council for 13 years, is considered one of the last “Euroturbs” in Parliament. He twice failed in the elections for the governing council of Basel. Entry into the Council of States was also lost.
Now the 60-year-old has reached the top of the Nebs. The devout Christian, who is involved in the Evangelical Methodist Church in his canton, will now be a woman for an EU that relies on isolation in its asylum policy and accepts the conditions in Greek refugee camps.
How do you do that? “There are also many leftists who criticize EU policy. The disputes in the EU are the same as in Switzerland, so you have to sit down together at the table.” I have long since overcome the argument that the EU is bad and Switzerland is good. “
Intense times await Nussbaumer and the Nebs.
Keystone
Switzerland will have to sit at the same table with the EU in the coming months if it is to reach a framework agreement that has been in dispute for 7 years, without reaching a result. Especially since the unions and Nussbaumer’s party, the SP, will not accept a deal if you question wage protection in Switzerland, as they say.
Fight with the SP?
Nussbaumer doesn’t want to talk about a fight with his fellow party members: “We don’t have big differences, there are nuances. For example, I am ready to create effective wage protection on a European legal basis, the unions want this on a Swiss basis. “
These nuances now need to be clarified, says the president of Nebs. There is talk of “clarifications” in the text of the framework agreement. But in concrete terms: what should these “specs” look like? Which side would Nussbaumer take if the EU does not want to comply with Switzerland’s demands? Should Switzerland sign a framework agreement even if wage protection is no longer guaranteed?
Nussbaumer remains optimistic
«I give the responsibility to the Federal Council. Now it is up to him to make more precise statements and clarifications. Perhaps he will fail in the Federal Council or in a referendum. But I don’t think the Federal Council would like to conclude the negotiations without alternatives. “
One should never give up on a negotiation, Nussbaumer encourages the Federal Council. He is “very confident” that “clarifications” and “clarifications” will be achieved with the EU when concrete proposals are finally presented to him. Eric Nussbaumer is and will remain optimistic. As president of a movement that aims to achieve “swift accession of Switzerland to the EU”, he certainly cannot hurt.
