The president of the Confederation Karin Keller-Sutter spoke on Tuesday at the Élysée in Paris with the French president Emmanuel Macron, in particular on cooperation and competitiveness in Europe, as well as the geopolitical challenges. American customs duties were also on the bilateral discussion program, but not combat aircraft.
Karin Keller-Sutter and Emmanuel Macron notably addressed war in Ukraine as well as the situation in the Middle East and Iran, the Federal Finance Department (DFF) said on Tuesday. The president of the Confederation reaffirmed the will of Switzerland to offer her good offices and to engage in the search for peace solutions.
The French president welcomes the offer of Switzerland. He supported any discussions between Ukraine and Russia in Geneva, said Karin Keller-Sutter during an interview with the Keystone-ATS news agency after the meeting in Paris.
Switzerland spared a reaction from the EU
American customs policy has also been mentioned. The federal councilor explained to President Macron the objective of Switzerland, which is to obtain a sustainable abolition of additional “reciprocal” customs duties as well as other additional customs duties. It is planned to sign a declaration of intent with the United States.
France, as a member of the European Union (EU), does not lead direct discussions with the United States. The European Commission, which negotiates on behalf of the 27 Member States, is competent in the matter.
President Macron assured that he would commit to that Switzerland be spared by possible EU commercial reactions to American customs policy, said the DFF. Ms. Keller-Sutter had already received this insurance from the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, she said.
The F-35 not on the agenda
However, there was no question of the acquisition of F-35 combat aircraft. France knows that the selection procedure is completed in Switzerland, said Keller-Sutter. It is now a question of finding a solution with the United States, both in terms of domestic policy and foreign policy.
In June 2021, the Federal Council decided to replace the current army combat aircraft with American F-35s for an amount of six billion francs. At the time, the French Rafale plane had also been selected in the final selection.
Last week, it was announced that the United States and Switzerland do not agree on the purchase price of six billion francs for the 36 F-35A combat aircraft. The United States invokes a misunderstanding and requires 650 million to an additional $ 1.3 billion, while Switzerland is overly negotiated.
Water use agreement
The G7 summit in Évian was also discussed. France plans to organize the high -level meeting in June 2026 in the commune located on the French bank of Lake Geneva. In this context, security cooperation has been mentioned.
According to the press release, the negotiations underway on the Doubs as well as the agreements on the regulation of Lake Geneva and the Rhône were also mentioned in the field of bilateral relations. These two agreements should be signed at the end of the summer.
