Swiss Review 5/2018

Swiss Review / September 2018 / No.5 22 OSA news Switzerland without Europe? Europe without Switzerland? Strictly speak- ing, neither are possible – RemoGysin, president of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), made that clear right at the beginning of the plenary session of the Congress of the Swiss Abroad inVisp. Gysin said, “Neither al- ternative works, because Switzerland is as clearly a part of Europe as every other European country.” The scene in the Visp Convention Centre, where delegates from around the world engaged in a lively debate. educationsuisse Tel .+41 31 356 61 04 Fax+41 31 356 61 01 info@educationsuisse.ch www.educationsuisse.ch Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) Alpenstrasse 26 CH-3006 Berne Tel. +41 31 356 61 00 Fax +41 31 356 61 01 info@aso.ch www.aso.ch www.revue.ch www.swisscommunity.org Our partners: Foundation for Young Swiss Abroad Tel .+41 31 356 6116 Fax+41 31 356 61 01 info@sjas.ch www.sjas.ch “Switzerlandwithout Europe – Europe without Switzerland” Europe was the central theme of this year’s Congress of the Swiss Abroad calling for a taking stock of bilateral relations. The position of official Switzerland was outlined inVisp by Roberto Balza- retti, State Secretary and head of the Directorate for EuropeanAffairs of the FDFA: “To ensure the prosperity of Switzerland, relations with Europe need to be strengthened in the long term while respecting sovereignty.” He added in reference to the currently somewhat tense relations between Bern and Brussels that an agreement needs to be found inwhich both sides make concessions. One should not close oneself off andwithdraw, but ap- proach each other openly in order to find solutions, he said. “Switzerland and Europe are de- pendent on each othermore than ever. It is time to reach a joint agreement as a stable framework is in the interest of all,” was the stance taken by Michael Matthiessen, the ambassador of the