Swiss Referendum to clarify the country’s relationship with the EU

A referendum in Switzerland to clarify the country’s relationship with the European Union would be helpful, Swiss President Doris Leuthard said on Sunday, after ties between the two sides cooled this week.

Switzerland’s frictions with the EU, of which it is not a member, arise as Britain negotiates its withdrawal from the bloc following a referendum in June last year and seeks a new trading relationship with its closest neighbors, Daily Mail reported.

Talks on securing a new “framework” treaty to govern the Swiss-EU relationship have been underway for some time, with Brussels wanting to replace the more than 100 bilateral accords which regulate its relationship with Bern.

But relations soured this week when the EU granted Swiss stock exchanges only limited access to the bloc, prompting Swiss threats of retaliation for what it called discrimination.

“The bilateral path is important,” Leuthard told Swiss newspapers Sonntags Blick. “We therefore have to clarify our relationship with Europe. We have to know in which direction to go.

“Therefore a fundamental referendum would be helpful.” (MENA)