President says Switzerland has invested heavily in the EU

President Guy Parmelin said high-level talks with the European Union must resume, after the vice-president of the European Commission for Inter-institutional Relations, Maroš Šefčovič, suggested that outstanding Swiss contributions to the Cohesion Fund were a stumbling block to dialogue.

Parmelin, who is in New York this week attending the United Nations General Assembly, told reporters that Switzerland had already made important investments in the EU, including more than CHF20 billion ($21.6 billion) to build the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA), which he said benefits all of Europe.

“Once [high-level] meetings are organised, we can put on the table everything that we have done in favour of the European Union,” said Parmelin.  

Šefčovič, who this week took over the Swiss dossier for the EU, said Brussels “wants to have the best possible relations with Switzerland” but that “fundamental issues” need to be clarified, including outstanding contributions to the union’s Cohesion Fund – designed to financially support member states with gross national incomes below the EU average.

However, the Slovak also expected Switzerland to make additional payments. Other countries outside the EU, such as Norway, make regular transfers in exchange for access to the single market, he pointed out.

Last May Switzerland walked away from negotiations on a draft framework agreement designed to regulate bilateral relations with the EU, citing “substantial differences”. A deal to release cohesion fund contributions to the 27-member bloc is under discussion in the Swiss parliament.