A book by the think tank, Avenir Suisse, says continuing relations with EU on the basis of bilateral treaties are not promising for the future.
The authors recommend three possible scenarios: a new attempt at joining the European Economic Area treaty, full membership of the EU – albeit without taking over the euro currency – or a global alliance of small and medium-sized states in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Voters in 1992 narrowly rejected the Economic Area Treaty at the polls following a campaign by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party.
Over the years Switzerland and the EU have concluded more than 20 major bilateral accords, but critics say the system is becoming unwieldy.
An application for EU membership has effectively been shelved, but not withdrawn.
Avenir Suisse, a policy institute with close ties to the Swiss business community, was founded in 1999.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss business dismisses EU membership
This content was published on
But the banking community now appears ready to explore the extension of bilateral ties to include financial services to avoid being frozen out by the threat of increasingly protectionist EU regulation. The report by the Swiss Business Federation, economiesuisse, that was released in Zurich on Tuesday, ruled out the prospect of Switzerland becoming a full…
This content was published on
Thomas Cottier, a professor of European and economic law at Bern University tells swissinfo.ch to what extent legislation in Switzerland has already become compatible with the EU. Switzerland is staying on the sidelines of the EU and a formal application for membership remains frozen. The government decided to focus on bilateral treaties with Brussels until…
This content was published on
Fernando Riquelme, Spain’s ambassador to Bern, explains to swissinfo.ch Madrid’s outlook on sensitive Swiss topics like banking secrecy and the anti-minaret initiative. With its willingness to renegotiate double taxation treaties, Switzerland has shown a desire to adapt to the OECD rules on banking secrecy. For that reason, Riquelme says Switzerland needs no “defender” at the…
This content was published on
For the next eight days the European Parliament is holding a series of public hearings with the 26 candidate Commissioners in Brussels. Swiss diplomats will be watching closely to see how the new Commission will deal with the thorny subject of tax. Ahead of the parliamentary grilling, the incoming European commissioners already provided written answers…
This content was published on
Switzerland has a turbulent relationship with the European Union. While many Swiss would be happy to join the EU, there are even more who are not interested as nationwide votes have shown in the past. (Keystone)
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.