Switzerland Eu Relations

This book offers an up-to-date assessment of the state of Switzerland-EU relations with the aim of drawing lessons from the Swiss experience to shed light on the challenges facing the UK post-Brexit and, more broadly, on how non-member states can adapt to "integration without membership". The book covers the main issues in the Swiss experience of dealing with the EU over the last 30 years. These include the determinants of the 1992 vote, the architecture of the bilateral agreements signed since then, the economic interests at stake, the role played by immigration, the impact on the country’s federal system, the political, social, and cultural factors shaping attitudes to integration, and how the "Swiss model" has featured in the discourse about Brexit. The concluding chapter identifies the key lessons Switzerland’s experience offers for the British debate on the country’s relations with the EU post-Brexit. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European Union politics, European politics, Swiss Politics, British Politics, Brexit, and more broadly to international relations.

Despite its geographical centrality and its considerable economic involvement in Europe, Switzerland remains unusual in that it is neither a member of the European Union or the European Economic Area. At a time when the Union is both expanding and seeking to develop its integration, the country constitutes a real anomaly amongst west European states. This book demonstrates the range, depth and complexity of Switzerland’s developing relations with Europe and provides detailed and up-to-date information on Switzerland itself. Considering a variety of dimensions of the country and its ambiguous relations with the EU, the contributors, all of whom are leading specialists on Swiss-EU relations, explore: the classical political obstacles to entry: federalism, direct democracy, neutrality and the growing strength of anti-European populism policy barriers to integration: in trade and economics generally, in financial matters, and in social provisions relating to the movement of people the negotiation of the two sets of bilateral accords which presently structure Swiss relations with the Union the EU response and the prospects for future Swiss-EU relations. Switzerland and the European Union will appeal to specialists on Switzerland, academics and students in politics and international relations, and practitioners in European integration and Swiss politics.

What makes the relationship between Switzerland and the EU so challenging? For both parties, mutual relations are of crucial importance, not least economically. As a result of the Swiss voters’ rejection of the European Economic Area 30 years ago, there is at present a large number of agreements that provide for Switzerland's partial participation in the EU's internal market as well as other matters. At the same time, there has now for more than a decade been an increasing degree of institutional and legal uncertainty. The present volume offers an inventory of different sides of this special relationship, which is interesting also in a comparative context.

This study explains in an accessible manner the key elements of the relationship between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union. The author begins by summarizing the main steps in this special and evolving relationship which has long oscillated between membership and marginalization. He also guides us expertly through the thickets of referendums (no fewer than fourteen from 1972 to the time of writing!) in which Swiss citizens have been given the opportunity to pass judgment on the European question. Finally and perhaps most importantly, this volume explains why the Swiss still oppose joining the European Union. It examines the thorny questions of identity, reservations on policy matters (preserving neutrality, direct democracy and Swiss style federalism), not to mention doubts regarding the economy, which have done so much to shape public opinion and the official strategy of the Swiss Confederation. Paradoxically, the closer Switzerland gets to the EU through bilateral agreements, the more distant prospects of joining the EU seem to become. This is the conundrum at the heart of the relationship between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union which is expertly explored in this volume.

Although it is one of very few countries in Europe that has chosen to remain outside the EU, Switzerland is closely integrated with the Union. Two sets of recently negotiated bilateral sectoral agreements provide further integration. This study analyzes the functioning of the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU, focusing on the agreements that entered into force in 2002. Particular attention is paid to the institutional arrangements and their ability to adapt to new legal and political developments in the EU, the impact on the functioning of Swiss democracy, and how the Swiss political system affects the implementation of the agreements. Comparison is also made with the experiences of the European Economic Area, the only arrangement for integration without membership that is more extensive than the Swiss model. The study concludes with an assessment of the prospects for EU-Swiss relations.

The book provides the first systematic overview of Swiss political economy in comparative perspective. It provides an analysis of major socio-economic institutions, economic actors, economic and social policies, and political institutions and their recent changes.

India and the European Union bear a particular responsibility: as international relations change, not least because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the two largest democracies in the world have the unique potential to jointly demonstrate that trusting cooperation and mutual understanding are both indispensable and fruitful—all the more so in the context of increasing national egoism and disregard for the fundamental principles of multilateralism. This realisation is not new. Believing in the necessity and mutual benefit of close cooperation, India and the EU struck a strategic partnership in 2004. But resounding success in forging closer bilateral ties and promoting an inclusive, rules-based global order has proved elusive. Since 2016, however, the EU’s Global Strategy has offered new opportunities for a restart of European foreign policy, envisaging new partnerships and recalibrating existing ones. On India’s part, too, changing stances have presented new openings—with New Delhi criticising protectionism and calling for a strengthening of multilateralism. This timely book scrutinises the status quo and the future potential of revitalised EU-India relations. By exploring and analysing conceptual approaches to and key dimensions of the strategic partnership, including trade, climate policy and development cooperation, it evaluates the prospects for future cooperation. Lastly, it offers policy recommendations for advancing the partnership between India and the EU.