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Switzerland is not a Member State of the European Union.
However, since the Member States of the European Union are its most important
trading partners, the Swiss economy and Switzerland’s prosperity are closely
connected with the economies of the EU-Member States. Nevertheless, the Swiss
voters rejected its government’s proposal to join the European Economic Area in
1992. As a result, the relationship between Switzerland and the Member States of
the European Union remained governed by the 1972 Free Trade Agreement.
In June 1999, however, bilateral agreements, which were long
negotiated between Switzerland and the EU, were signed and thereafter approved
by Swiss voters. These agreements, of which there are seven, entered into force
on June 1, 2002, starting a new chapter in the relationship between Switzerland
and the EU members.
In Spring 2001, Switzerland and the EU decided to open new
negotiations on a number of other bilateral issues, such as co-operation in the
fields of justice, police and refugee politics, the prevention of customs fraud
and the issue of taxation of interest. These were, in part, leftovers from the
first round of bilateral negotiations, which ended in 1999 with the signing of
the seven agreements that entered into force on June 1, 2002.
The negotiations resulted in eight sector-specific agreements
and a declaration of intent. The Bilateral Agreements II were initialled by the
negotiating delegations in Brussels on June 25, 2004. The second series of
Bilateral Agreements were signed in Luxembourg on October 26, 2004. The Federal
Council submitted the agreements to Parliament for approval in Fall 2004. The
Bilateral Agreements were approved by Parliament on December 17, 2004. Except
for the agreement on processed agricultural products, which provisionally
entered into force on February 2, 2005 and was not subject to referendum, the
Bilateral Agreements II are individually subject to an optional referendum
designated to be held between December 21, 2004 to March 31, 2005. Whether a
popular vote on some or all agreements will take place is still open.
Applicable law
Detailed information
Bilateral agreements I
Agreement on Air Transport
Overland Transport Agreement
Agreement on Free Movement of Persons
Agreement on Research
Agreement on Public Procurement Markets
Agreement on Agriculture
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
Bilateral Agreements II
Agreement on Taxation of savings
Agreement on the Fight against Fraud
Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Justice, Police, Asylum and
Migration (Schengen/Dublin)
Agreement on Processed Agreicultural Products
Agreement on the Environment
Agreement on Statistics
Agreement on Media
Agreement on Pensions
Declaration of intent on Education, Occupational Training, Youth
Frequently Asked Questions
Useful
Links
This site has been prepared by:
Prof. Dr. Peter Nobel
Cynthia S. Anderfuhren-Wayne (J. D.)
Nina Sauerwein, D.E.A.
Nobel & Hug
Attorneys at law
Dufourstrasse 29
8032 Zurich
Switzerland
Tel: +41 (44) 262 22 12,
Fax: +41 (44) 262 00 92
E-mail: peter.nobel@nobel-hug.ch
or
E-mail:
c.anderfuhren@nobel-hug.ch or
E-mail:
n.sauerwein@nobel-hug.ch
www.nobel-hug.ch
April 2006 |
