EU, Switzerland Should Find Compromises To Conclude Framework Deal - Von Der Leyen

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd April, 2021) The European Union and Switzerland should be able to find the required compromises to conclude an institutional framework agreement aimed at simplifying ties between Brussels and Bern, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Friday.

Ahead of a day of talks with Swiss President Guy Parmelin in Brussels, von der Leyen said that negotiating teams from both sides had been in talks since January.

"I'm very much looking forward to taking stock today with President Parmelin on the basis of the discussions which our teams have been conducting since January," von der Leyen said in a press statement.

The president of the European Commission noted that Swiss officials had asked for clarification on the rules governing the free movement of persons, state aid, and pay rules, adding that both parties would need to be flexible to get the deal over the line.

"The European Union has listened very closely to the Swiss position on these subjects. In any negotiations, the last lap is the most difficult to complete. I do, however, think that it should be possible to find compromises and conclude our institutional framework agreement, we just need some flexibility on both sides," von der Leyen added.

Currently, relations between the EU and Switzerland are guided by a series of bilateral accords, which Brussels wishes to replace with a single overarching framework.

A draft framework deal was negotiated between 2014 and 2018, although Brussels and Bern have been locked in a stalemate over the final terms of the agreement following Swiss domestic criticism of the draft deal.