Thread by @tepsaeu

We're LIVE🔴

You can still #zoom in and join us: tepsa.eu/tepsa-debate-e…

"We're going to take a break from the #coronavirus and talk about EU-Swiss relations and euroscepticism"

- @niknuspliger from @NZZ opens up our debate

As we welcome our panellists Frank Schimmelfannig, @stefwalter__, @ChristaMarkwald, and @_PaulSchmidt, we invite you to follow along in #zoom or via this THREAD where we'll be posting some choice quotes from the session 💪

/3

@_PaulSchmidt opens by mentioning that this debate takes place in the framework of the upcoming TEPSA Book: "Euroscepticism and the Future of Europe: Views from the Capitals"

👉tepsa.eu/tepsa-books/

@Palgrave_ @MichaelKaeding @JohannesPollak

/4

"The book will be a guide to the political landscape in Europe"

Today we're talking about 🇨🇭 but you can learn about any one of 39 countries in the upcoming TEPSA Book!

/5

"Swiss Euroscepticism is actually quite typical of rich, well-governed, north European countries, who no longer need it for democratic consolidation, economic subsidies, or regional peace"

- Frank Schimmelfennig from @ETH outlines the main takeaway from this presentation

/6

"We don't only see the usual opposition from the populist right, but also from the left, concerned about the future of the 'flanking measures' used to protect Switzerland's high wages"

- Frank Schimmelfannig from @ETH breaks down the current blockage in negotiations

/7

"Swiss missed its best chance to join the EU back in 1995 because they voted against the EEA in 1992 - we now need to aim for a solid framework for cooperation"

- @ChristaMarkwald from @FDP_Liberalen brings us up to speed from the political point of view

/8

.@ChristaMarkwald focusses in on the importance of #Brexit in Switzerland's approach to EU relations: the UK may be divorcing where Switzerland was never married, but the outcome of EU-UK negotiations will have a huge impact on the Swiss government's aims and expectations.

/9

"some say failure could herald the beginning of new negotiations more favourable to Switzerland, but some believe that there would not be much change anyway"

- @stefwalter__ from @UZH_en takes us through the extent of optimism or pessimism in Switzerland

/10

"When you have mutually agreed compromise, like with #freedomofmovement, then one party compromises more than the other: the EU does not want to be that party"

- @stefwalter__ explains the EU's wish to avoid losing their advantages

/11

"Other countries might then ask: 'why can't we have cherry-picked relations like them'"

- @stefwalter__ elaborates why the EU is stubborn in its negotiations with third parties: Switzerland, and the UK in #Brexit

/12

"When Brexit talks were renewed, the populist right says this signals the EU can be pushed towards compromise; the left says this signals Britain's desperation to avoid a catastrophic #NoDealBrexit"

- @stefwalter__ explains different reactions to #Brexit in Switzerland

/13

"Public opinion is negative when it comes to cherry-picking deals: they don't want 'some to be more equal than others'"

- @_PaulSchmidt brings in the perspective of the Austrian public as a proxy for other Member States' attitudes to cherry-picking

/14

"The pro-EU camp stopped promoting the EU because it wasn't politically valuable; eurosceptics never stopped, so now the base line is that the EU is either bad or a necessary evil"

- @stefwalter__ explains how permissive consensus has influenced the public conversation

/15

We are now opening the floor to YOU! Ask your questions in Q&A and join the conversation with our wonderful panel of experts!

/16

Today's debate is linking Swiss-EU negotiations with EU-UK #Brexit talks: our latest question from the audience relates the Swiss and UK financial sectors as influencing behaviours and attitudes towards the EU

/17

"Its difficult to analyse even the past, so we absolutely can't predict the future, BUT there is reason to be optimistic about the future of Swiss-EU relations"

- As we begin wrapping up, @_PaulSchmidt looks towards the future of Swiss-EU relations

/18

As @niknuspliger wraps things up on #zoom, we'd like to thank our panellists for lending their expertise to this TEPSA Debate:

Frank Schimmelfennig from @ETH
@stefwalter__ from @UZH_en
@ChristaMarkwald from @FDP_Liberalen
@_PaulSchmidt from @oegfe

/ENDS