Vote tests Swiss feeling towards EU

Date: 05/06/1997

By Mark Turner

A SWISS referendum this weekend could hold a vital key to the Alpine federation's future relationship with the European Union.

If the country accepts a proposal from the Italian-speaking party Lega dei Ticinesi and the Swiss Democratic Party, the government would in future have to consult both the people and the cantons before beginning negotiations on EU accession.

Since Bern already needs to hold a referendum to confirm the results of any negotiations, a 'yes' on Sunday (8 June) would effectively force any future Swiss bid for Union membership to gain popular approval twice.

Although government officials do not predict much popular support for the idea (in Switzerland's direct democracy it takes a big issue to get people to come out and vote), the referendum demonstrates clearly the continued obstacles which face those in favour of Swiss integration in Europe.

The country's government applied for EU membership in 1992, but its bid was put on ice when its people rejected membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) in the same year.

Although the government still sees the EU as a strategic objective, both parties agree that it would be pointless to press ahead with talks without a change of heart among voters.

And while commentators point to a gradual softening in their approach as the decade wears on, perhaps boosted by the sense that EU membership is inevitable eventually, opinion polls still chart less than 50&percent; support for the idea.

The referendum's supporters hope that a 'yes' vote will stop any Europhile tendencies dead in their tracks. The government claims that a rejection would be a vindication of its policies and conduct.

In the meantime, negotiators are having enough trouble patching together a less ambitious cooperation deal between Switzerland and the Union.

The biggest sticking point is the EU's demand for access to Swiss trans-Alpine routes, which the federation is refusing to grant without considerable safeguards and high tolls.

Although a recent Swiss proposal offered a glimmer of hope, according to European Commission officials, a dispute over whether charges proposed for crossing the country should be linked to inflation has all but sunk the talks.

The Swiss had proposed a maximum crossing fee of 515 SwF (310 ecu) and a weighted average cost of 460 SwF (280 ecu) for fully-laden 40-tonne lorries.

Different 'pollution classes' of trucks would be charged different amounts, but as the EU fleet became cleaner, the average toll would remain the same.

Hauliers would also be offered an alternative and cost-effective rail route through the country, and the Swiss would retain certain rights to protect their environment should things go too far too soon.

Despite initial enthusiasm towards the new offer, which - in structure at least - looked sound, the sudden discovery that the proposed charges could rise by around 2&percent; a year because of inflation caused Transport

Commissioner Neil Kinnock to cancel a planned special meeting of EU transport ministers last week.

“We had understood that the figures were inflation-proof, which gave us something to negotiate with,” commented one Commission official. “With inflation-indexing, the cost is now far too high.”

Since the Commission has stipulated that all aspects of the agreement will be agreed as a package or not at all, the land transport deadlock has brought the rest of the talks to a halt.

That is a huge shame, say negotiators from both sides, as in all other areas there is substantial agreement. Closer inspection, however, reveals that few are free of controversy.

Negotiators made a breakthrough last year on the right of EU citizens and their families to live and work in Switzerland (a major Iberian objective), but the question of access for non-resident service providers such as lawyers and hairdressers still has to be settled.

And while both parties have decided to pool their resources in research, the Union is proving unwilling to allow the Swiss to sit on its decision-making committees. This, retort the Swiss, is despite a precedent set by an EU-Israeli research deal under which Jerusalem was allowed to send a silent observer to meetings.

Agricultural issues, such as the current dispute over access for dried Swiss beef to EU markets, continue to flare up and the Union is still excluding Swiss aircraft from its internal routes. A pact on air transport is a pre-condition to Switzerland accepting the agreement, say the country's diplomats.

Brussels insiders now hold out little hope of a deal before 1998, despite a strong Dutch push to agree the remaining points before the end of its presidency on 30 June.

The delay is not all bad, however. For a start, it gives the Union more time to resolve its own internal battles over environmental road pricing, and might also allow for some relaxation in the Swiss people's attitude towards the Union.

Furthermore, despite this latest set-back, neither side has abandoned hope of a quicker deal. Last year's compromise on the free movement of people demonstrated that progress is possible even on the most sticky of issues.

It nonetheless seems unlikely that future EU presidencies will try quite so hard as the Dutch, and Switzerland risks being put on the back burner. “After all, there is only a limited amount of time on our ministers' agenda,” said one Commission official.