Every year, the interparliamentary meeting between Switzerland and the EU brings together the members of the EFTA/EU delegation of the Federal Assembly and the members of the Delegation of the European Parliament for relations with Switzerland (DEEA). This year's meeting will take place in Bern on 8 and 9 February. The talks will focus on the state of relations between Switzerland and the European Union following the conclusion of the exploratory talks between Bern and Brussels, as well as on the ongoing process of adopting the corresponding negotiating mandates on both sides.

The interparliamentary meeting provides an opportunity to exchange views at parliamentary level on the current state of relations between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) and in particular on the package approach, which is intended to address the outstanding issues in overall bilateral relations. Under the joint chairmanship of National Council member Thomas Aeschi (SVP, ZG), president of the EFTA/EU delegation, and MEP Andreas Schwab (EPP, Germany), chair of the DEEA delegation, the parliamentarians will discuss, among other things, the Common Understanding drawn up by the negotiating parties in the presence of representatives of the Federal Administration and the European Commission.

Due to the ongoing discussions in Switzerland regarding the consultation on the draft negotiating mandate, representatives of key interest groups have also been invited to take part in the interparliamentary meeting. The secretary general of the Conference of the Cantonal governments, Roland Mayer, the chief economist of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, Daniel Lampart, and the head of foreign trade at Economiesuisse, Jan Atteslander, will present the positions of their organisations in order to provide an insight into domestic political tensions.

In addition, Andreas Schwab MEP and Rita Adam, Swiss Ambassador to the EU, will discuss the upcoming European elections in June and their potential impact on relations between Switzerland and the EU.

The Federal Assembly will be represented at the interparliamentary meeting by Delegation president Thomas Aeschi (SVP, ZG), vice president Damian Müller (FDP, LU), National Council president Eric Nussbaumer (SP, BL), National Council members Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (The Centre, BL) and Nicolas Walder (Greens, GE), and Council of States members Hannes Germann (SVP, SH), Benedikt Würth (The Centre, SG) and Carlo Sommaruga (SP, GE). From the European Parliament, MEPs Andreas Schwab (EPP, Germany), Christophe Grudler (Renew, France), Zdzisław Krasnodębski (ECR, Poland) and Lukas Mandl (EPP, Austria) will take part.