At the end of September, the Federal Assembly voted to release the second Swiss contribution to selected EU member states. At the 40th inter-parliamentary meeting on 15 November, the members of the EFTA/EU Delegation and the European Parliament's DEEA Delegation will discuss ways to build on this positive momentum in bilateral relations.
The main focus will be on Switzerland’s participation in the EU research and education programmes Horizon Europe and Erasmus+. Following the Federal Council’s decision not to sign the institutional agreement, the European Commission announced that Switzerland will be given the status of non-associated third country in Horizon Europe until further notice. This means that researchers at Swiss universities cannot participate in individual Horizon Europe projects anymore or lead EU projects. As a result, Switzerland is no longer in a position to help shape the development of, or set priorities in, the European Research and Innovation Area.
The two parliamentary delegations want to ensure that negotiations on Switzerland's full association to these EU programmes can begin as soon as possible. They will also discuss the future of reciprocal market access and the EU’s legislative proposals to regulate major online platforms (i.e. the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act).
The Head of the Swiss Mission to the EU, Ambassador Rita Adam, and the Head of the EU Delegation to Switzerland, Ambassador Petros Mavromichalis, will also be attending the inter-parliamentary meeting.
The EFTA/EU Delegation will be represented in Brussels by its president, National Council member Eric Nussbaumer (SP, BL), its vice-president, Council of States member Benedikt Würth (The Centre, SG), and National Council members Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (The Centre, BL), Thomas Aeschi (SVP, ZG), Hans-Peter Portmann (FDP, ZH) and Nicolas Walder (Grüne, GE).