On its meeting on 8 November 2023, the Swiss Federal Council reviewed the outcome of the exploratory talks with the EU launched in March 2022 and instructed the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs to prepare a draft negotiating mandate by the end of 2023.
The Swiss–EU exploratory talks allowed to establish a solid common basis for future negotiations, settled within a “common understanding” document. The talks covered all the components of the Federal Council’s package approach, including the participation in EU programmes.
The European Commission took note of the Swiss Federal Council’s decision. The College will discuss the common understanding reached at the end of the exploratory rounds in the coming weeks.
The Stick to Science campaign welcomes these developments of Swiss-EU relations and calls for Switzerland’s full association with the Horizon Europe package as soon as possible. This latest milestone should allow technical discussion aiming at association to begin immediately, as stated by the European Commission in the past months.
Stick to Science supporters believe swift action can now be undertaken in order to unlock the Swiss situation.
Updates from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs: Federal Council instructs FDFA to prepare mandate for negotiations with European Union (admin.ch)
Statements from the European Commission: EC AV PORTAL (europa.eu)