Switzerland is not a member of the European Union and does not belong to the European Economic Area (EEA). Nevertheless, the relation between Switzerland and the EU reached such a high intensity and extent of interconnections, that they are sometimes called integration without membership, quasi-membership in the EU, or privileged partnership. In practice there is a wide access of Switzerland to the EU internal market, the EU’s research and development programs, as well as membership of the Schengen Agreement and participation in European initiatives and trans-border cooperation. This is the result of the policy of bilateralism by Switzerland and the EU. The problem is that since 2008 one can clearly see there is in the relations between Switzerland and EU an obvious impasse and in fact the policy of bilateralism can’t be continued. The author of this article try to explain what are the risen and haw both Switzerland and EU trying to find the way out.
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