Switzerland would in the second half of this year approach its Parliament to clarify the legal situation around administrative assistance based on stolen data, its visiting Economic Affairs Minister Schneider Ammann has said.
This Alpine country is on its way to accept international standards (read OECD standards) and will ask its Parliament to “contribute to regularise the specific situation”, Ammann said here on the first day of his two-day official visit to India.
Pressure is mounting on Switzerland to adopt international standards and respond to requests for banking information even when they are based on stolen data.
Switzerland currently does not entertain requests for banking information if they are based on stolen data.
Ammann said there is a will to clarify the legal situation and one would have to wait for the Parliamentary process to be completed.
“We have decided to accept international standards and follow OECD principle.It is not yet decided as to how to do it (clarify). So I can’t get into the details. The clarification of the legal situation will not be focused on India. It will be in general,” Ammann said.
Ammann’s latest remarks are clearly seen as a pointer to Switzerland’s willingness to consider a change in stance on banking information requests based on stolen data.
When pointed out that the time taken to clarify the legal situation may frustrate India's efforts to track unaccounted money, Ammann admitted that time was a factor.
“We have to respect the Swiss procedure. You must realise that the process has started within the Swiss Government,” Ammann said.
Ammann met Commerce and Industry Minister (Independent charge) Nirmala Sitharaman earlier today.
This meeting would now pave the way for resumption of negotiations for the free trade agreement between European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and India.
“I am not able to come up with any timeline as to how many more years it will take (for the FTA). My feeling is there is real will on both sides to sit at the table and resolve issues.
We had given ourselves enough time and are patient enough because we want to end up in a broad-based FTA”, he said.