ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss cabinet took no steps on Wednesday to resolve a diplomatic standoff with the European Union over a stalled draft treaty, the government spokesman said, paving the way for Bern to launch retaliatory measures to safeguard Swiss bourses.
"If (stock market regulation) equivalence is not given then Plan B will be activated -- protective measures for the Swiss exchanges -- and that will simply be activated at the end of this month," the spokesman told reporters in Bern.
The European Commission said earlier it has had no contact with Switzerland in the past few days on avoiding the expiration at the end of this week of a regime which allows Swiss stock exchanges to access the European Union market.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by John Miller)
