Switzerland’s largest party, the SVP, vows to fight against closer ties with the EU

In a post on the X (formerly Twitter) social network, the party vowed to fight “by all possible means” against any kind of institutional ties with the European Union.

The Swiss government and the European Commission announced in a joint statement earlier Friday that they wanted to immediately resume negotiations on a cooperation agreement.

Both sides said they believe a positive outcome is already within reach.

The statement comes two years after Switzerland unexpectedly slammed the door on years of negotiations.

Switzerland and the EC published a 13-page document detailing the guidelines for future negotiations.

They must now be given the mandate to continue negotiations “with a view to concluding them in 2024”.

The purpose of the negotiations is to reach an agreement that would allow Switzerland to cooperate more effectively with the European Union in various fields.

These include the European internal market, transport, electricity, Swiss participation in European programs involving research and high-level dialogue.

The EU is perhaps Switzerland’s most important trading partner due to its economic and political weight and geographical and cultural proximity.