The President of the National Council, Stéphane Rossini (SP, VS), and a Swiss
delegation travelled to Madrid and Lisbon for an official visit from 21 to 26
June 2015. In Spain, the delegation of national councillors met the presidents
of both parliamentary chambers, and in Portugal, they met the President of the
National Assembly for talks. They also visited a solar thermal power plant and a
Swiss food production plant.
In Madrid, the Swiss delegation began their visit by meeting Jesús María Posada
Moreno, President of the Congress of Deputies, and Pio García-Escudero Márquez,
President of the Senate. They then met for talks with José Manuel
García-Margallo Marfil, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, several
members of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and Alberto Nadal, Secretary of
State for Energy.
The Swiss delegation visited the solar thermal power plant Tubo Sol, in which
several Swiss energy companies have a stake. The visit provided an opportunity
for in-depth discussions on energy.
The delegation met representatives of Swiss companies and visited a
production plant of the Hero food company.
The members of the National Council then travelled to Lisbon, where they met
Maria da Assunção Andrade Esteves, President of the National Assembly, and
attended the opening of the parliamentary session. The Portuguese parliament has
only one chamber.
Talks with members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Portuguese
Communities and the European Affairs Committee provided the opportunity to
discuss topical issues such as relations with Europe and bilateral relations
between Switzerland and Portugal. These are of particular significance since
Switzerland, particularly the French-speaking part, is home to a large
Portuguese community.
The President of the National Council was accompanied on this trip by Christa
Markwalder (FDP, BE), First Vice-President; Jürg Stahl (SVP, ZH), Second
Vice-President; members of the National Council Tiana Angelina Moser (GLP, ZH),
Francine John-Calame (GPS, NE), Kathy Riklin (CVP, ZH) and Andy Tschümperlin
(SP, SZ); Philippe Schwab, Secretary General of the Federal Assembly; and the
Swiss ambassadors Thomas Kolly (Spain) and Lorenzo Schnyder von Wartensee
(Portugal).