Europe

Switzerland
Last reviewed: 04.06.09

Country information

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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Switzerland has been a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) since 1959 and a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since 1995. Switzerland is not a member of the EEA after membership was rejected by referendum in 1992. A March 2001 referendum on opening an EU accession dialogue was resoundingly defeated. This was partly due to its traditions of neutrality and direct democracy which are to an extent incompatible with EU legislative processes and other aspects such as the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Nonetheless the political debate on EU membership continues, and in general Swiss laws continue to be made compatible with EU legislation. A June 2006 Swiss Government report concluded that the continuation of a series of bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU was the best short- and mid- term option.

In 2002, the ‘Bilaterals I’ package came into force, including an agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (FMoP) between Switzerland and the then 15 EU members, and agreements on air and land transport, agriculture, removing barriers to trade, public procurement and research. FMoP was agreed for an initial period of 7 years. The Swiss parliament will vote in summer 2008 on whether the agreement should continue and be extended to include the newest EU members, Bulgaria and Romania.

A ‘Bilaterals II’ package was concluded in 2004, covering participation in the Schengen frontier free zone, the Dublin asylum repatriation arrangements, the taxation of savings, the fight against fraud and Swiss participation in a range of EU programmes.

Ratification of the some of the Bilateral II agreements is still pending. The government won a referendum in November 2006 to approve the 1 billion Swiss francs that Switzerland has agreed to pay to help reduce social and economic disparities in the new Member States (“Cohesion Payments”). The UK recently ratified the EU-Swiss Fraud Agreement and is keen to bring it into effect provisionally between the UK and Switzerland, pending ratification by other Member States.

Switzerland joined the UN in September 2002 after a narrow vote in favour, but remains keen to steer a neutral/humanitarian course. Despite this it is the second largest per-capita contributor to the UN system, and Geneva plays host to a number of UN agencies. Switzerland was a key player behind the creation of the UN Human Rights Council in 2006.

Although Switzerland is not a member of NATO, it participates in some of its activities through the Partnership for Peace. Following a referendum in June 2001 the electorate approved a government proposal to allow the arming of military units deployed for peacekeeping operations. Switzerland now has approximately 220 military personnel involved in KFOR (the NATO force in Kosovo), as well as 28 military and civilian observers spread across a number of other UN and OSCE missions. Switzerland also contributed 26 personnel and 2 COUGAR helicopters to the EU’s peacekeeping mission EUFOR in Bosnia.

Switerzerland's relations with the UK

Relations remain excellent. There is regular contact at ministerial and official level covering issues from the Balkans to mutual legal assistance and cultural affairs. Recent highlights have been the visit to London by Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in March 2006, and the Foreign Secretary’s talks with Foreign Minister Calmy-Rey in Davos in January 2008, where John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform also met Doris Leuthard, Swiss Minister for Economic Affairs.

Cultural Relations with the UK

British Council - Switzerland

Recent Visits

Inward

State Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Michael Ambühl, visited London in December 2007 for talks with FCO Permanent Under Secretary, Peter Ricketts.
State Secretary for the Economy Jean-Daniel Gerber visited London in March 2006, meeting Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment.
Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey visited London in 9 March 2006, meeting the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
Federal Councillor for Finance, Hans-Rudolf Merz, visited London in November 2005 to meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and the Lord Mayor of the City London Alderman David Brewer.
President Samuel Schmid visited London in June 2005 for an Audience with Her Majesty The Queen and a meeting with the Prime Minister.

Outward

Foreign Secretary David Miliband met Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey for bilateral talks at Davos in January 2008.
Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform John Hutton met Swiss Minister for Economic Affairs Doris Leuthard at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2008.
Minister of State for Transport Dr Stephen Ladyman visited Berne and Basel in January 2007 for talks on transport policy with Federal Councillor Leuenberger.
Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown attended the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2007. Other key UK attendees included HRH The Duke of York, the Secretary of State for Trade Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for Health Patricia Hewitt and the Secretary of State for Environment, Health and Rural Affairs David Miliband. Attendees in 2006 were the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.
HRH The Prince of Wales visited Switzerland in December 2005 to attend the official opening of a bridge and tunnel in the ski resort of Klosters.
Lord Bach, Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs visited Berne in November 2005 to attend a Youth Summit on Climate Change which brought together young scientists and opinion formers from the UK, Switzerland, Bangladesh and the US.