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Regular version of the site

Ives Rossier met with the master’s students of International Trade Policy program

On December 6, 2018, Yves Rossier, Ambassador of Switzerland to Russia, told the International Trade Policy students in detail about the relationship between Switzerland and the European Union, Russia, and the rules of building a dialogue between countries.

The European Union, according to Yves Rossier, is like a large family, which solves all external issues only by a collective vote. Therefore, in order to strike a deal during the negotiation process, non-members of the EU need to build a dialogue not with individual members, but only with the entire community. This is the only proper way to achieve diplomatic goals and successfully build a dialogue.

"Family member" and his interests will always be more important than the interests of non-member partners. What is more in order to avoid veto implementation by while concluding new agreements, third countries should always take into account the interests of each member of the Union, not just the single representative, the ambassador concluded. That is a mistake often made by Russian diplomacy maker, insisted the ambassador.

Moreover, Yves Rossier explained to the students the reasons why Switzerland is not a member of the EU. First, it is the country's non-participation in the Second World War, which leads to the lack of need for an agreement to contain new wars in Europe, which was the basis for the creation of the Union. Secondly, it is the fear of separatism, which may be caused by joining the EU and granting new preferences to the cantons of the country. Cases in a point are Catalonia in Spain and Scotland in the UK, the ambassador noted.

At the end of the speech, Yves Rossier answered all the questions of the students.

V.N. Zuev, the headmaster of the International Trade Policy program, was a moderator of the discussion between the former ambassador and the graduates. The event was also attended by E.Ya. Ostrovskaya .