The European Union will continue to recognize Switzerland's trading venue – but only as a temporary stop-gap. The Swiss exchange is still subject to the bloc's threats on access.
The move is intended as «a last gesture of goodwill» from Brussels to Bern, in order to support Switzerland's deliberations over a wider financial framework agreement with the European Union.
Two high-profile EU representatives told «Reuters» that Switzerland would be granted a temporary, six-month grace period until the bloc stops recognizing Switzerland's equivalency with its own. The EU commission didn't comment the decision ahead of a member meeting later this week to discuss it, but the political decision appears to have already been taken.
No Rush in Bern
The measure gives Switzerland six months to work on a wider framework for its financial center to gain market access in the EU. But Bern signaled last week that it isn't rushing forward: a consultation period on the agreement runs into spring 2019.
Next year is also complicated both by Swiss elections as well as ones in the European Union – which will make it all but impossible to reach and ink an agreement outside of the respective campaigning.
Swiss Emergency Plan
Should Switzerland not make any substantial headway with the wider agreement – which is being fought by influential left-wing unions as well as the right-wing People's Party – in the next six months, the Zurich-based SIX trading venue will lose equivalency with the EU.
The Swiss government recently released a contingency plan, under which Swiss equities can only be traded on Swiss-approved venues. Whether the EU is granted Swiss approval remains to be seen in the next six months.
