While nationalists, conservatives, eurosceptics, Trump fans and ordinary Russians (in person or by passport) They are proposing new and new referendums on the entry of this or that member state into the European Union, a small country with enormous importance is ready to vote for the greatest rapprochement with the community.
After years of negotiations, in December Switzerland and the EC reached an agreement in principle on a package of agreements that would guarantee local businesses access to the single market, but also to bring the legislation as close as possible to that of the Union.
ΠIn recent days, hundreds of pages of texts of the documents were published - 95 EC legislative acts, 32 laws amending and supplementing existing Swiss laws and 3 completely new ones, and procedures are also underway for the referendum that will decide their fate.
A complicated history
Switzerland and the EC have been trying to come to an agreement since the 1990s, but efforts began in 2013 to close the deal by 2021. everything fell apart due to internal political opposition.
Brussels also criticized Switzerland for excluding it from the largest scientific research program in the world - Norison Euro.
ΠThe negotiations were resumed years later, as restoring mutual trust was as difficult as smoothing out the details.
The number of bankruptcies in Switzerland reached a historical record in 2024
Insolvency is observed in both legal entities and individuals
What is changing
ΠSwitzerland plans to apply EC rules in sectors such as transport, energy and food, which will dynamically and, if necessary, following a survey of the population. Switzerland will participate, albeit without the right to vote, in the discussion of future regulations.
ΠThe right to reside in the country will remain subject to the existence of an employment contract, which also provides for a safeguard clause with which Bern will be able to unilaterally limit migration for social or economic reasons.
Switzerland will join to the European electricity market and coordination, where consumers will be able to choose a supplier from abroad.
Each year the country will contribute 375 million. euros in the EC budget, the end result of which will be improved access to the largest free market in the world.
Disputes between the two parties will be heard in a new arbitration court, and when interpreting European law, an opinion from the Court of Justice of the EC will be sought. Brussels' retaliatory measures could be limited to the affected sector and there would be no possibility of general sanctions.
There are also areas such as cybersecurity, in which Switzerland would be isolated from considerations of protecting the EC's technological sovereignty.
What are the prospects?
For now, the deal has political support in Bern. Back in April, it was decided to launch a referendum procedure, which requires a simple majority. Opinions are being collected until October 31, before the parliament begins to consider the agreement with the EC.
The referendum is expected to take place in 2027. or at the latest in 2028.
As the FT notes in its article, the big question is what happens if the Swiss say "No". "If this is the case, the EC believes that this should be the end of Switzerland's special treatment", a source familiar with the situation in Brussels commented before the publication.
And for Swiss business to simply turn to such a third party would be painful.