The Offices of the National Council and Council of States elected the members of a permanent delegation, which will in future participate in the activities of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on behalf of the Federal Assembly.
The OECD PD delegates are National Council members Prisca Birrer-Heimo (SP, LU), Sophie Michaud Gigon (Green Party, VD), Nicolo Paganini (The Centre, SG) as well as Council of States members Erich Ettlin (The Centre, OW), Thomas Minder (SVP, SH), Ruedi Noser (FDP, ZH), and Carlo Sommaruga (SP, GE). One seat of the SVP parliamentary group in the National Council will still be appointed in the course of the winter session.
This parliamentary delegation was set up on the initiative of the Council of States Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee (EATC-S). Both parliamentary chambers approved its creation in the final vote of the 2021 autumn session. The Federal Assembly Ordinance on International Parliamentary Relations (SR 171.117) has been amended accordingly.
The parliamentary delegation comprises four members of the National Council and four members of the Council of States. It will meet for the first time in the winter session of 2021 and constitute itself.
The PD-OECD is expected to represent the Federal Assembly twice a year in the various OECD events aimed at national parliaments. Participation in these events will give the delegation the opportunity to address OECD-specific issues at an early stage, so that it can share its knowledge with the various parliamentary committees in the event of rapid international developments.
The OECD was established in Paris in 1961, with Switzerland as a founding member. The international organisation now has 38 member states. Its objective is to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral basis, thereby promoting optimal economic development, high employment and rising living standards in its member states.