Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-05-03-Speech-3-176"
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"en.20000503.11.3-176"2
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"Mr President, the Social Democrats Group and I myself most emphatically welcome this agreement between the European Community, on the one hand, and the Swiss Confederation, on the other. It is a step in the right direction. After all, Switzerland is located at the heart of Europe but is not yet a member of the Union. The conclusion of the bilateral negotiations with Switzerland will put the Union’s relations with Switzerland on a new footing, and we all hope that, in a few weeks’ time, the Swiss people will give their assent to these agreements.
But there are a few aspects that still need clarification. I am not referring to what I usually refer to in this connection, namely closer cooperation to combat tax evasion at the cost of the European taxpayers. Tonight I will confine myself solely to the question of freedom of movement and will specifically address the subject of cross-border workers. In all, there are 140 000 cross-border workers in Switzerland who come from Germany, France, Italy and Austria. These cross-border workers are very seriously affected by the most recent deteriorations in Swiss pension schemes. Prior to the tenth review of old-age and surviving dependants’ insurance there was a so-called spouse’s pension, which was paid without regard to the place of residence of either spouse.
Under the tenth review, which recently came into force, this rule was removed. It was replaced by educational credits, which were, however, tied to residence in Switzerland. As a result, cross-border workers from the European Union had to pay the same contributions as Swiss residents, but received a 30% lower pension. The forthcoming eleventh review even provides that only widows resident in Switzerland are entitled to a widow’s pension, which, of course, once again makes the situation worse for cross-border workers from the EU.
Unfortunately, European Union governments have paid too little attention to this issue until now. I hope all this will change in the near future. The current rules on old-age and surviving dependants’ insurance conflict with the principle of equal treatment and equal status. Cross-border workers pay in just as much pension insurance as their Swiss counterparts but receive considerably lower pensions. I hope that this unilateral discrimination by the Swiss Government will be remedied in the wake of this bilateral agreement. I am extremely grateful to the rapporteur for touching on and bringing up this question in his explanatory statement.
A glance at the map shows that these are probably not the last negotiations and agreements we will see between the Union and Switzerland. That makes it all the more important to abide not just by the letter but also by the spirit of the agreements we are deciding tomorrow. For that can only be to the benefit of future negotiations and future agreements which we will be negotiating and deciding bilaterally."@en1
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