His debut as the Commission’s new “Mr. Switzerland” would be thunderous to say the least. On Tuesday evening, Commission Vice President Maros Sefkovic confirmed that he was taking control of the bilateral issue. The 55-year-old Slovak, who currently handles strategic foresight and interacts with Northern Ireland after Brexit, declared color above all else: Switzerland should provide “firm and credible proposals” especially in the resolution of disputes, and the future should be similar to that of Norway when it has not paid off debts since 2012.

If these requests are not entirely new, especially to Livia Liu, who was heard on Friday in Brussels, as some call her “Big Maros”, Bern probably would not have expected them. . While Parliament is busy releasing a payment, he is already talking publicly about future money.

Also read: Who is Maros Sefkovic, the uncompromising new interlocutor in Brussels, Switzerland?

Not there to give gifts

A new mistake? Of course not. If Maros Sefkovic’s style is different from that of Stephanie Rizzo or Michel Barnier, a French civil servant who tried to defend the Framework Agreement, then his “EU” DNA, which has been completing his 5th term on the commission since 2009. Similar to the second.

This native of Bratislava, who lost the presidential election in his country in 2019, will not deviate from community principles. But he would “say no with a smile,” comments Jean Rusotto, a lawyer in Brussels.

“If he’s more unknown than Barnier, he really embodies the continuity of the institution,” says one colleague.

After all, that person works better than Michelle Barnier on the British side, and has a good relationship with Minister David Frost. “He’s calm,” this colleague said.

Also read: The announcements of the new Swiss gentleman from Brussels are split in Bern

“Laser eye”

Also, if the profile of Maros Sefkovich remains of a pure Eurocart, and even an “apartment” (a member of the political apparatus of the Soviet Union) – a card from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1987 and a card from the Slovak Communist Party – how can you see the big picture? He is more flexible and knows some suggestions to make the life of the Northern Irish people easier. He was also a participant in the 2019 gas deal between Kiev and Moscow. Someone still called the “laser eye” pays close attention to details that no one else sees, and can easily open his door to interviews.

But will it be enough? Whether sympathetic or not, he will work in an unrestricted atmosphere, without great vacancy. Since there is no senior management behind him, his cabinet will work in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Commission.

He can also collaborate with a person the Swiss already know. In this case, Richard Sostock, who currently handles the Brexit task force on the commission, is left with only memories of Bern as the powerhouse of Jean-Claude Juncker in the Swiss file with Martin Selmeyer.