Switzerland and the European Union
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Switzerland took part in negotiating the European Economic Area agreement with the European Union. It signed the agreement on May 2, 1992, and submitted an application for accession to the EU on May 20, 1992. However, a Swiss referendum held on December 6, 1992 rejected EEA membership. As a consequence, the Swiss government decided to suspend negotiations for EU accession until further notice. Its application remains open.
The popular initiative "Yes to Europe!," calling for the opening of immediate negotiations for EU membership, was rejected in a March 4, 2001 referendum. On 5 June 2005, Swiss voters agreed, by a 55% majority, to join the Schengen treaty, a result that was regarded by EU commentators as a sign of support by Switzerland, a country that is traditionally perceived as isolationist.
With the ratification of the second round of bilateral treaties, the Swiss Federal Council has downgraded their characterization of a full EU membership of Switzerland from a "strategic goal" to an "option" in 2006.
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Members Candidates Potential candidates 1 Referred to by the EU as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. |
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