In London you see everything through the glasses of Brexit

British media and EU skeptics are looking at ending the Federal Council of negotiations on the Framework Agreement from the perspective of Brexit. Some are even speculating about a new alliance between Bern and London and fail to acknowledge that Switzerland does not even want to end its existing treaties with the European Union.

“I congratulate Switzerland on defending itself against EU bullying”: in supporters of Brexit, rejection of the framework agreement was accepted as a defeat for Brussels.

Alistair Grant/AFP

There have been real and supposed similarities between Brexit and Switzerland’s struggle for a framework agreement with the EU in recent years. In Brussels, officials dealing with the two files have worked closely together. In Bern, people kept a close eye on whether the British would get concessions from the EU that would also be of benefit to Switzerland – Boris Johnson eventually managed to avoid the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, but secured far worse access than Switzerland. . Finally, London has a primary interest in Switzerland’s status as a non-member of the European Union. But because Brexit based on the two-track model of Switzerland was not taken seriously in London or Brussels, the British public’s knowledge of dualism has remained very superficial.