Brussels, 07/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - Current and future relations between the European Union and Switzerland were at the centre of a report entitled “Integration without accession: Switzerland's bilateral agreements with the EU”, prepared jointly by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and the European Institute of the University of Zurich, presented in Brussels on 6 March. On the possibility of Switzerland's accession to the European Union, Berhardt Marfurt, Swiss ambassador to the EU, felt that, at the moment, the Swiss people were not ready to make the sacrifice of any restriction to their system of direct democracy in exchange for greater influence in decision making on EU policies. The European Union has clearly stated its position, that the aim is accession. An association agreement between the EU and Switzerland, bringing together the sixteen already existing agreements, would be a possibility if it brought “added value”, according to both the Commission and the Swiss ambassador. With the head of delegation and the location already decided, the Commission hopes to open the European Commission delegation in Bern “before summer”.
Mr Marfurt said that the real challenge was how to formulate the question to the people of Switzerland on the country's possible accession to the EU. In order to join the EU, the Swiss would have to accept restrictions to their system of direct democracy, characterised by frequent referendums and to which the people are very attached. According to Mr Marfurt, the question would be “Do you accept this 'sacrifice' with a view to having greater influence on decision making?”. But he repeated that the Swiss were not ready to make this sacrifice at the moment. Mr Marfurt said that, at the end of June, the Swiss authorities would publish a report on the options offered to Switzerland by European integration. Among these options would feature the “pursuit of bilateral agreements” (the favoured option in political and economic circles, he said), “collaboration within the framework of the multilateral European Economic Area (EEA) agreement” and “accession to the EU”. He also refuted the idea that EU-Swiss agreements benefited only his country, for example, he said, it was not the Swiss, but the EU, who wanted the directive on the taxation of savings income (see EUROPE 8981).
Matthias Brinkmann, head of unit at the Commission with responsibility for EU-Swiss relations, clearly considered that bilateral agreements, in reality, constituted only transition towards accession, even if Switzerland's entry to the EU was not immediate. He said that Switzerland was a typical member of the EU, especially since its policies, like those of the EU, were bases on “consensus”. Mr Brinkman also pointed out that in 2004 the Swiss Parliament had refused to retract the Swiss Confederation's candidature for membership of the EU, but which has, in fact, been frozen because of Switzerland's 1992 refusal to join the EEA. In the short term, the bilateral approach will continue and sectoral negotiations are possible in “electricity”, transport (with Swiss involvement in the Galileo project), food safety (with Swiss involvement in two European agencies, EFSA for food safety and ECDC for disease prevention and control).
Is an association agreement with Switzerland a possibility? Mr Marfurt and Mr Brinkmann both think so, as long as this agreement brings a real added value. Such a framework would be useful for “political dialogue” said Mr Marfurt, adding that “experts” were currently working on the details of a possible agreement and that a decision would be taken depending on the outcome of their deliberations. According to Mr Brinkman, an association agreement would make sense. He said greater coordination was required so why not in the form of a joint committee to continually update the bilateral agreements.
Marius Vahl, from CEPS, presenting the study, pointed out that Switzerland had more bilateral agreements with the EU than any other country. This study shows that the first seven “bilateral I” agreements are working well, even though they have not yet been fully implemented, since the agreement on the free movement of persons will not be fully applicable until 2014 (see EUROPE 7362). The implementation of nine “bilateral II” agreements will begin in 2008 (see EUROPE 8710). The integration of Switzerland remains less complete than that of EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). The study stresses that Switzerland's access to the internal market is much more limited perhaps because there is no bilateral agreement on services. Mr Marfurt was at pains to point out that Switzerland was the “EU's second largest customer”, with a million European citizens living there and 200,000 living near its borders work there.