Swiss road deal paves way for accord in other sectors

Date: 03/12/1998

By Renée Cordes

EU FOREIGN ministers are set to approve the Union's agreement with Switzerland to end restrictions on trucks using Alpine roads next week, removing the biggest stumbling block standing in the way of a wide-ranging accord.

However, a dispute over air travel has still to be settled before the two sides can seal the overall package.

Under a deal reached earlier this week, Bern agreed to lift its ban on trucks from the EU weighing more than 28 tonnes by 2005. In return, the Union accepted that Switzerland could levy trucks tolls based on infrastructure costs including the building and maintenance of roads and bridges. Switzerland also agreed to increase the quota of 40-tonne EU trucks crossing its borders incrementally from 2001 until 2005.

“This is a great deal for the EU and the Swiss,” said Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock as the marathon negotiations came to an end.

Five other agreements, which cover agriculture, free movement of people, research, public procurement and technical barriers to trade, were finalised by EU and Swiss negotiations at the start of this year, but were put on hold while talks on the trucks issue continued.

The only outstanding question now remains the Swiss demand for its airlines to have the right to drop off and pick up passengers anywhere within the Union.

But Alexis Lautenberg, Switzerland's ambassador to the EU, said that while there was still “reticence” among some member states to accept Bern's demands, he was optimistic that the wider accord would be completed in the next few months.

Talks on the Swiss transport package were derailed earlier this year because of German and Austrian opposition to Bern's preference for charging trucks according to the number of kilometres they travelled. Austria was concerned that high tolls on Swiss roads would push more traffic, especially from Germany, on to its own motorways.