INTERVIEW WITH ROBERTO BALZARETTI, AMBASSADOR OF SWITZERLAND TO EU : RENEWED 'CONFIDENCE' BETWEEN BERNE AND UNION.

Switzerland has one foot in Europe's internal market and one foot solidly planted outside the EU, a situation that is not always easy to manage. An informal interview with its Ambassador to the EU, Roberto Balzaretti.

You were named Switzerland's ambassador to the EU in June 2012. Is accepting such a post a bit suicidal, given the love-hate relationship Berne and the Union have always had?

It's not a love-hate relationship: it's been a success story for decades. No, I'm not suicidal, but proud to hold this post. Switzerland is the EU's fourth largest trading partner; 1.2 million EU nationals live in Switzerland, and another 260,000 cross the border daily to work there; Berne and the Union have signed around 120 sectoral agreements, etc. Obviously, in such a close relationship, problems come up from time to time, but we manage to solve them.

What have been the most important developments between Switzerland and the EU since your arrival in Brussels?

A year ago, some were claiming that the Swiss approach based on bilateral agreements with the EU was dead and buried. They were mistaken. We succeeded in building the confidence necessary to develop our relations in a multitude of areas, based on two parameters: it is unimaginable to freeze these relations at their current level, just as it is unimaginable for Switzerland to join the Union in the foreseeable future. Given this context, we laid the foundations for renewal of the bilateral approach, which will be given effect with the establishment of a new institutional mechanism.

What are the objectives of the negotiations in the institutional sphere that will probably open at the beginning of 2014?

The key objective is to give Switzerland wider access to certain segments of the EU internal market while safeguarding the acquis. The institutional negotiations will aim to guarantee uniform application of EU law in this area, in Switzerland and the Union. This is a request by the Union, which Switzerland has accepted, in particular because the uniformity of law is in the interest of both parties. So we have agreed to adapt our agreements in a "dynamic" manner to developments in EU law. But since Switzerland is not a member of the EU, it is imperative for us to safeguard our independence and sovereignty.

What are the red lines that Switzerland will not want to cross in this context?

On the one hand, Switzerland will have to be able to participate in the process of drafting - but not in decisions...

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