Interview: Swiss headed for 'risky' EU poll[fr][de] 

The referendum this Sunday will determine whether to extend freedom of movement to citizens of Bulgaria and Romania, a privilege which has up till now only been afforded to the twenty-five older EU member states. 

What is at stake, de Watteville explained, is no less than the legal foundations underpinning relations between Berne and Brussels. Indeed, under a "guillotine clause" negotiated in 1999, a number of related trade agreements would be automatically terminated in the event of a negative vote. 

"The collapse of the agreement on the freedom of movement of people would have the consequence of causing, six months later, the end of the six other agreements," the ambassador told EurActiv. 

These agreements broadly concern trade between Switzerland and the EU, as well as land transport (including transit through the Alps), creating potential problems both for Switzerland and for the Union, De Watteville said. 

With polls indicating that the outcome of the referendum remains in the balance, the ambassador said he was seriously beginning to consider the options in the event of a negative outcome. 

"Let's say that in the case of a negative vote, Switzerland would place itself in a difficult situation. And this would not be an easy situation for the Union either, because we have such close relations, being the second economic partner to the EU after the USA. Every day, there is one billion Swiss francs of goods exchanged between Switzerland and the EU," the ambassador said. 

De Watteville explained that all the major political parties in his country were in favour of extending rights to Bulgaria and Romania, with the exception of a third of the UDC party of businessman and populist politician Christoph Blocher. Blocher himself, since he was not re-elected in the government, was campaigning for the 'no' vote, he said. 

The Swiss diplomat added that the current economic crisis had made the situation more difficult, saying that the referendum would have easily passed six months ago. He insisted that his government had made a significant communication effort to explain the issues to the electorate, and that the Swiss media had generally done a "good job". 

De Watteville explained the positions of his country with respect to the ongoing reform of global financial rules. He admitted that Switzerland was not present in certain political organisations, instrumental in this endeavour, but said that at technical and operational level, his country was both "present and active". 

The ambassador also outlined his country's positions on banking secrecy. 

To read the full text of this interview in French, please click here.