Reforzar la dimensión territorial de las relaciones entre la UE y Suiza
Opinion factsheet
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- Política de cohesión
- Cooperación transfronteriza y territorial
- Justicia y asuntos de interior
- Espacio de libertad, seguridad y justicia
Opinion number:
CDR-2023-2025
Status:
Aprobados
Objective
Strengthening the territorial dimension of the relationship between the EU and Switzerland
Enhancing the role of the EU’s local and regional authorities (LRAs) and Switzerland’s cantons as key partners in multilevel governance
Ensuring the involvement of LRAs in the monitoring and implementation of the new package of agreements between the EU and Switzerland, concluded in December 2024
Establishing sustainable and structured cooperation between the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and Switzerland’s Conference of Cantonal Governments
Enhancing the role of the EU’s local and regional authorities (LRAs) and Switzerland’s cantons as key partners in multilevel governance
Ensuring the involvement of LRAs in the monitoring and implementation of the new package of agreements between the EU and Switzerland, concluded in December 2024
Establishing sustainable and structured cooperation between the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and Switzerland’s Conference of Cantonal Governments
Impact
The European Commission:
welcomes the support expressed by the CoR in point 17 of the Opinion for the broad package of agreements to consolidate, deepen and expand the relationship between the EU and Switzerland;
considers that the package corresponds to the CoR's expectations, as expressed in points 18, 19, 29, 30 and 31;
takes note of the priority areas for LRAs identified in point 26 of the Opinion and is confident that they are appropriately addressed in the broad package of agreements;
recalls that in its Multiannual Financial Framework (2028-2034) proposal, it has proposed to retain Interreg with a higher amount of funding than previously;
shares the view expressed in point 27 of the Opinion that the integrated electricity grid is a milestone in cross-border energy cooperation, which will be strengthened through the Agreement on electricity;
acknowledges the importance of EU LRAs and Swiss cantons in EU-Switzerland relations;
is committed to the principle of subsidiarity, referred to in point 25 of the Opinion, and to the exchange with the CoR on the territorial dimension of EU – Switzerland relations in accordance with the protocol on cooperation between the Commission and the Committee of 24 March 2024;
recognises the value of the cooperation bodies and groupings mentioned in point 10 of the Opinion and sees opportunities for the promotion of cooperation between the Commission, EU and Swiss LRAs through existing frameworks and mechanisms, eg. EU Macro-regional Strategy for the Alpine Region.
welcomes the support expressed by the CoR in point 17 of the Opinion for the broad package of agreements to consolidate, deepen and expand the relationship between the EU and Switzerland;
considers that the package corresponds to the CoR's expectations, as expressed in points 18, 19, 29, 30 and 31;
takes note of the priority areas for LRAs identified in point 26 of the Opinion and is confident that they are appropriately addressed in the broad package of agreements;
recalls that in its Multiannual Financial Framework (2028-2034) proposal, it has proposed to retain Interreg with a higher amount of funding than previously;
shares the view expressed in point 27 of the Opinion that the integrated electricity grid is a milestone in cross-border energy cooperation, which will be strengthened through the Agreement on electricity;
acknowledges the importance of EU LRAs and Swiss cantons in EU-Switzerland relations;
is committed to the principle of subsidiarity, referred to in point 25 of the Opinion, and to the exchange with the CoR on the territorial dimension of EU – Switzerland relations in accordance with the protocol on cooperation between the Commission and the Committee of 24 March 2024;
recognises the value of the cooperation bodies and groupings mentioned in point 10 of the Opinion and sees opportunities for the promotion of cooperation between the Commission, EU and Swiss LRAs through existing frameworks and mechanisms, eg. EU Macro-regional Strategy for the Alpine Region.
Essential points
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR):
draws attention to the close economic, social and cultural links between European regions and the Swiss cantons, which have been reinforced in a number of cases in formal cooperation bodies;
welcomes the agreement reached between the European Commission and the Swiss Federal Council in December 2024 on the package of agreements;
calls for structured cooperation between the CoR and Switzerland’s Conference of Cantonal Governments; emphasises that enhancing the territorial dimension of the EU-Switzerland relationship also means that both the EU and Switzerland need to recognise the contributions and roles of the subnational levels of government, and that an active subsidiarity approach is adopted in bilateral relations;
identifies the following as priority policy areas for local and regional authorities in the context of EU-Switzerland relations: the free movement of people, the cross-border labour market, transport and mobility, innovation and research, food safety, civil protection, the prevention of health emergencies, security and regional development;
stresses that increasingly efficient cooperation between EU LRAs and Swiss cantons is needed to protect and preserve the biodiversity that are in cross-border areas; points out that the integrated European electricity grid is a milestone in cross-border energy cooperation; calls for the EU programmes that support cross-border cooperation with Switzerland, such as Interreg, to be continued and bolstered in the next multiannual financial framework;
calls for the CoR to be involved in the evaluation and implementation mechanisms once the package of agreements enters into force, and for mechanisms such as hearings, working groups and thematic dialogues to be formally established within institutional frameworks to gather the views of local, regional and cantonal authorities;
highlights the importance of cooperation between political assemblies and asks that the CoR be invited as an observer to EU-Switzerland interparliamentary meetings and to be involved in the Parliamentary Partnership Committee to be set up by the European Parliament to implement and monitor the agreements.