Foreign Press Association in Switzerland

Alain Berset is the guest at the lunch of the Foreign Press Association in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. In his speech, he describes a “slow erosion of the rules-based international order” and links it to the self-determination initiative, put to the vote on 25 November. The text, he says, would threaten every treaty, from the WTO to the European Convention on Human Rights.

At table, he turns to humour. On Brexit: “Fortunately, we in Switzerland have already sorted out our relationship with the EU…” And on Swiss slowness, a punchline: the Federal Council has set up a working group, which will deliver its interim report in five years.

Speeches on this site

• Discours devant l’Association de la presse étrangère en Suisse (APES) (French-language page)
• Allocution de table devant l’Association de la presse étrangère en Suisse (APES) (French-language page)