The Swiss EFTA/EU Delegation will visit Brussels from 7 to 9 February. On this occasion, the delegation will discuss the state of Swiss-EU relations with Mr Richard Szostak, the new head of relations with Switzerland at the Secretariat-General of the European Commission. The members of the delegation will also meet with the Norwegian Ambassador to the EU, Rolf Einar Fife, for an exchange on the European policy priorities of the new Norwegian government. The bilateral meetings will also include talks with MEPs Lukas Mandl, Andreas Schieder and Christophe Grudler. As rapporteur and shadow rapporteurs, they will be primarily responsible for the report on Switzerland's relations with the EU, which will be discussed by the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee in the coming months. Andreas Schwab MEP, Chairman of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with Switzerland, will also be present at the meeting.
The delegation will also take part in a seminar on trade organised by the EFTA Parliamentary Committee in Brussels on 8-9 February 2022. Discussions will focus on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which is one of the flagship projects of the Green Deal for Europe, as well as on the international public procurement instrument and the anti-coercion instrument. The programme also includes an exchange on the new European screening mechanism for foreign direct investment.
The EFTA/EU Delegation will be led by its president, Council of States member Benedikt Würth (The Centre, SG), who will also be accompanied by National Council members Eric Nussbaumer (SP, BL), Hans-Peter Portmann (FDP, ZH), Nicolas Walder (The Greens, GE) and Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (The Centre, BL), as well as Council of States member Damian Müller (FDP, LU).