Cassis: goal of Bilateral III agreements remains achievable

The Council of States has decided that the new package of bilateral agreements with the European Union must be submitted to a mandatory referendum. The decision, taken by 23 votes to 17 with 3 abstentions, means the agreement will need a double majority of both the people and the cantons to enter into force. The matter now moves to the National Council.

With this choice, the chamber representing the cantons distanced itself from the position of the Federal Council, which had repeatedly argued for an optional referendum on international treaties.

Speaking to RSI, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, described the outcome as positive. He said the vote did not match exactly what the government had hoped for, but that the debate over the balance between democracy and federalism had been expected. He called the six-hour debate in the Council of States one of high quality, saying it had explored the foundations of the Confederation.

Winning over the cantons

According to Cassis, the Bilateral III package remains on track despite the double referendum, since it can still win the support of both the people and the cantons. The Federal Councillor acknowledged, however, that more effort will be needed to explain the content of the agreement, particularly to smaller cantons that feel distant from these issues because they lack the industrial base found in Zurich, the Lake Geneva region or eastern Switzerland.

During the debate in the chamber of the cantons, opposition came from the Swiss People's Party, as well as parts of the Centre and the Liberal Party. Cassis acknowledged the legitimacy of these positions, while noting that the final decision will rest with the people and, potentially, the cantons.

The Federal Councillor said it would be better to wait for the debate in the National Council to get a clearer sense of the political positions on the matter. He expects the dynamic in the chamber representing the people to be quite different from that seen in the Council of States, where cantonal and federalist logic weighed heavily.