Swiss consider arbitration panel for disputes with EU

ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss government has amended its mandate for negotiating a new treaty with European Union authorities to explore having an arbitration panel settle some disputes over single market rules, it said on Monday.

Brussels has put pressure on non-EU member Switzerland to sign a treaty that would see it adopt EU laws governing the single market as the price of enhanced access. At present a network of 120 bilateral accords governs economic ties.

The new treaty would mean the European Court of Justice giving its opinion on disputes involving the single market.

This is anathema to the anti-immigration Swiss People’s Party, which is the largest in parliament and has two of seven cabinet seats.

Many Swiss conservatives are also wary of giving “foreign judges” such power, so setting up an arbitration panel could help move talks forward.

Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis had said in January that Switzerland would not meet the European Commission’s deadline for a quick deal on a treaty that would bind the neutral country more closely to its biggest trading partner.

Sources close to the talks have said the EU proposed last year letting a special arbitration court handle some disputes.

The treaty issue is politically fraught ahead of elections in both Switzerland and the EU in 2019, which in effect means any deal has to be done this year.

Switzerland also wanted a quick deal on Swiss participation in the single electricity market. It proposed a two-pronged solution on state aid entailing autonomous supervisory bodies for both Switzerland and the EU.

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