Reuters
The Confederation and the European Union have finally reached a full-fledged agreement on comprehensive cooperation.
There was a time when Switzerland seriously considered joining the EU. In 1972, the parties signed an agreement on the free exchange of goods and services, and 20 years later even a cooperation agreement (at that time, it was still the European Economic Community). Around the same time, Switzerland declared its desire to join a united Europe, but the idea failed in a referendum — Switzerland’s main mechanism of self-government.
This did not mean that the process was abandoned. Negotiations on a framework agreement continued, albeit with varying degrees of success. In 2021, they were even frozen for three years. Then, in March 2024, the two sides resumed talks; from March to December, there were 170 meetings! If you subtract weekends and holidays, that means they met virtually every day.
Since 2008, relations between Switzerland and the EU have been governed by 120 separate texts.
«The Confederation insisted on participating in trade with the EU through individual agreements in each economic sector. Brussels wanted a broader agreement to preserve the integrity of its market. That was the main point of contention», says Lara Martelli, an expert at the Jacques Delors Institute.
In the end, however, Switzerland was able to defend its sectoral approach. The agreement that was signed provides for the updating of five existing agreements (free movement of citizens, land transport, air transport, agriculture, and mutual recognition of conformity assessments for goods). Three brand new agreements were also created — for electricity, food safety and healthcare. Of course, all of these agreements will be updated on a regular basis.
When it comes to the free movement of people, the Swiss seem to have gotten the better deal. They secured the right for Berne to suspend freedom of movement at any time if it believes that freedom is causing serious economic or social problems, such as a spike in unemployment, public unrest, or, God forbid, terrorist attacks. Switzerland will support immigration, but only to the extent that it meets the needs of its economy. There is no such provision among the EU member states themselves.
Another exception: Switzerland can still refrain from deporting foreign criminals. So all those wealthy «African cannibals» and their descendants who enjoy the view of Lake Leman (also known as Lake Geneva) can breathe a sigh of relief.
In return, for example, Switzerland is required to charge foreign students the same tuition fees it charges its own citizens — sometimes up to 70% higher. Swiss students, meanwhile, will be able to participate in European student and research programs such as Digital Europe, Euratom, Erasmus+, and others. These programs, by the way, opened up a lot of places after the UK left them post-Brexit.
One interesting thing is a package known as «Mutual Recognition Agreement». The essence of this is that goods originating in one country and sold in another must comply with the regulations and laws of the second country. Previously, this involved a maze of regulations that made selling EU products in Switzerland and Swiss products in the EU quite complicated. The new agreement simplifies all this red tape so that a product sold in Switzerland can be sold in the EU and vice versa without any additional procedures.
Things are getting more complex in agriculture. All food products sold in Switzerland — unlike in the EU — must be labeled with the country of origin. Livestock will not be allowed to transit through Switzerland (so as not to contaminate the pristine Swiss meadows with their «European-ness»). The two sides also plan to revisit the issue of genetically modified products.
In fact, 50% of Switzerland’s agricultural exports go to the EU, and 74% of its agricultural imports come from the EU — considerable figures.
The Alpine republic has retained the right to ban trucks weighing more than 40 tons from its tidy territory, as well as to continue to prohibit truck traffic on weekends and at night.
EU legislation requires that if a country grants state aid to a particular sector of the economy, information about that aid must be reported to a special EU watchdog. The aim is to prevent one party in the single market from gaining a competitive advantage through state aid. Switzerland is now subject to the same rule and must notify this authority — but only if the amount of aid exceeds a certain threshold. There are other exceptions, such as for domestic rail transport: in the Alps, almost everyone travels by electric train.
Arguably the biggest stumbling block that has long delayed negotiations is institutional. In Switzerland, virtually every issue is decided by referendums held almost every weekend, and there is no way to convince the Swiss to give that up. As a result, any EU decision on a given issue would theoretically have to go through a Swiss referendum. How would that even work?
Switzerland has defended its position here as well. The Swiss will hold their own referendum on any EU decision. Any disputes between the parties will go before a joint committee, and if this proves unresolvable, the issue will be referred to a joint arbitration court.
Now to the financial side. Even before the beginning of next year, once the agreements have been signed, Switzerland will contribute 140 million euros a year from now on, and then its contribution will rise to 375 million euros.
However, three forces in Switzerland stand in the way of ratifying this treaty:
1. A referendum
2. The Swiss Trade Union Federation (USS)
3. The majority party in parliament, the «Swiss People’s Party» (UDC)
Each of these key forces has its own arguments for blocking this historic agreement. Even Swiss President Viola Amherd admits that she will face an uphill battle against the UDC in parliament. Nevertheless, predictions are that the new treaty will successfully overcome every hurdle.