Gov't Pulls Plug On EU-CH Framework Agreement, No Overarching Deal

Hans von der Buchard at Politico tweets; "BREAKING: Switzerland cancels ratification of framework agreement with EU. "Based on the results of negotiations in recent months, the [Swiss] Federal Council has determined that the talks with the EU ... haven't led to the necessary solutions," said Swiss President Guy Parmelin."

• Swiss gov't states that it wants to "cultivate and develop" its relationship with EU based on existing agreements.
• The Swiss gov't pulling the plug on the framework agreement means that the EU and Switzerland will continue to have a relationship based on 120+ bilateral agreements rather than an overarching deal.
• European Commission has issued a statement that can be found here.
• European Commission: "Without this agreement, this modernisation of our relationship will not be possible and our bilateral agreements will inevitably age: 50 years have passed since the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement, 20 years since the bilateral I and II agreements. Already today, they are not up to speed for what the EU and Swiss relationship should and could be."