On 18 September the President of the National Council, Dominique de Buman, received his British counterpart, John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons. During his visit to Bern, Mr Bercow also met the President of the Council of States, Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP, SG), the President of the National Council Foreign Affairs Committee, Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (CVP, BL), the President of the Council of States Foreign Affairs Committee, Filippo Lombardi (CVP, TI), and National Council member Christa Markwalder (FDP, BE).
Talks focused on the deadlines and procedure for the ongoing Brexit negotiations and other aspects of their content, the withdrawal agreement and the key points of the political declaration on future relations between the United Kingdom and the EU. The parliamentary procedure for withdrawal from the EU, and in particular for the ratification of the withdrawal agreement by the UK parliament was also discussed.
Discussions were also held on the future shape of trade relations with Switzerland. Relations between the UK and Switzerland are currently based largely on Switzerland’s bilateral agreements with the EU. Following Brexit, these agreements will no longer apply between the two countries. Switzerland and the UK are important trading partners, with close ties between their respective economies.