My Lord,
Excellencies,
Distinguished members of Parliament,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

First, I would like to thank the Lord Chancellor for his kind invitation at Lancaster House.

My visit to London enables me to give proof of the respect of the Swiss Federal Assembly to the House of Commons and to the House of Lords, both institutions that embody representative democracy and are rightly considered as the Mother of Parliaments. Our visit favours a fruitful exchange of views between an insular people whose destiny has been forged by the sea and a mountain country, jealous of its independence. For us, the visit of your Parliament is a great interest. It strengthens the ties of friendship, which exist between the Parliaments and peoples of our two countries.

Coming to Britain at a time when human rights are repeatedly violated in Europe in such a severe way reminds us of the efforts and of the sacrifices your people has bravely endured alone in 1940 and 41, then with its allies, to defend democracy, law and liberty. Your deep national qualities have enabled you to play an exceptional role in these tragic events. Switzerland will never forget your fight and remembers the inspiration you received from your great leader Winston Churchill. Now you are engaged in another fight for the respect of human dignity in Kosovo.

In the success of the British people, the value of your institutions has played a major role. Your solid and stable regime characterised by tradition, loyalty and fair play has lead to coherent Governments with whom Switzerland has always had the best relations whatever party was in power.

This visit coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Council of Europe whose statute was signed in London on May 5th and was a response to the famous Zurich speech of 1946 on the United States of Europe.

Allow me to mention that that event took place at the same time as the first visit of Swiss parliamentarians abroad. A delegation presided by my predecessor Joseph Escher was here exactly 50 years ago at the beginning of May 1949. A dinner was hosted for them by Mr. Ernest Bevin, the Foreign Secretary, on May 4th . They also met Mr. Clement Attlee, the Prime Minister, Speaker Clifton Brown and Lord Chancellor Jowitt. They visited the Haviland Aircraft Company, had lunch on HMS Victory in Portsmouth harbour, enjoyed the Opera "Coppelia" at Covent Garden and also saw the BBC studios. They were told not to bring more than £ 5 per person because of the exchange restrictions at that time! That was the beginning of Swiss parliamentary diplomacy.

Since then, many contacts have been established on a bilateral dimension, the next ones being the visit of a Northern Ireland Assembly delegation and a visit of a British IPU delegation in June. We also meet in the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe and of the OSCE, in the IPU and last but not least in our yearly skiing competition in Davos where friendly and durable relations have been established in the sporting spirit that lead Whymper to conquer the Matterhorn in 1865 !

Last year we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation and of the first meeting of the Swiss Parliament on November 6th 1848. We know that British diplomacy played a major role in that crucial moment in order to preserve Switzerland’s independence. This year, we adopted by referendum a revised constitution, with paragraphs rewritten in a modern style and including the fundamental values both countries share. As you know, the continental Europeans need a written document to ensure the good working of a democratic state! You manage without and we admire you also in this respect.

I raise my glass in honour of the Lord Chancellor and to the prosperity of the British people, our friend of yesterday, today and tomorrow.