Hopes fading of early Swiss lorry deal

Date: 30/10/1997

By Mark Turner

RECENT optimism that the EU and Switzerland would agree a wide-ranging association agreement by the end of the year is beginning to fade.

Although negotiations on access for EU lorries to Swiss Alpine roads, which have been effectively stalled since May, could be relaunched following a new offer from Bern this month, the European Commission and national governments appear willing to wait as long as it takes for a more advantageous deal to emerge.

Dominating recent discussions are new Swiss proposals to charge Union lorries 410 SwF (250 ecu) to cross the country, alongside promises of a competitive rail link and progressively higher weight limits.

Although Commission negotiators have welcomed Bern's advance from an earlier offer of 460 SwF (280 ecu), linked to inflation, they say it still does not go far enough. The EU is seeking a figure closer to 300 SwF (190 ecu).

EU ambassadors will meet tomorrow (31 October) to decide whether the new Swiss offer warrants reopening talks and convening a special meeting of transport ministers in mid-November.

Diplomats say that their final decision, which is not expected this week, will depend on the degree to which the Swiss show room for manoeuvre over their latest offer. “We are unwilling to hold a meeting unless we think there is a genuine chance of progress,” said one Council of Ministers source.

The strongest critic of the latest Swiss proposal is Italy, amid fears in Rome that since the Swiss deal is intrinsically linked to internal EU talks on road-pricing and Austrian demands for equivalent charges for Alpine transit, Italian hauliers could face more costly road transport on all sides.

But some experts say the EU is proving surprisingly intransigent given the substantial improvement in Switzerland's latest offer. “I am beginning to think that the Union is going to squeeze the Swiss for all it can get,” said one.

A Commission expert appeared to confirm this, saying: “Switzerland very much needs this agreement, while Europe can wait. EU governments are not going to be hurried by any efforts to finish talks this year.”

The Commission is growing increasingly impatient at Bern's resistance to rules which it says are fast becoming the norm throughout Europe. But the Swiss insist they have worked extremely hard to move as far as they have. “We have made a substantial effort to improve the attractiveness of our offer,” said a spokesman for the country's EU mission.

Until there is progress on the road transport issue, other aspects of the EU-Switzerland deal will continue to be held up. Despite claims by both parties earlier this year that other parts of the package were close to resolution, substantial difficulties remain over air transport, the free movement of people, agriculture and Swiss participation in Union research efforts.