What future is there for the EU? A Swiss perspective

“Why don’t you Swiss join the EU?” I have to answer this question again and again for more than 25 years. Because my job is to try to make our country understandable, and not to deliver my own political opinion, I normally answer with a joke, which is not that wrong, and says: “The point for the Swiss is not to know whether and how Switzerland could become the 29th or 36th member state of the EU, but rather when the EU will eventually agree to become the 27th canton of Switzerland”.

Like so many countries, we would like to have an EU that functions as our country does. If there is any possibility, preferably not too expensive, to be able to choose what we need and leave the rest beside, we’ll take it. The pretentious modesty of that argument is: we are used in diversity management, experienced in decentralization, subsidiarity and federalism, skilled in building mediations and compromises, even if it’s on a small scale. That’s also the reason why the Brexit decision was read by many here as a eyewink from one island to another.

Switzerland may not be a member of the EU, it is however at its very heart. It is bound to the EU via bilateral investment and institutional treaties (including Schengen and Dublin). All developments in the EU have a direct impact on Swiss politics and Switzerland has an overriding interest to maintain high intensity political and economic exchanges with the EU.

Switzerland’s own political history however has enabled it to gain valuable insight to sketch out the future of the EU to become more attractive for the country and the people.

Despite Switzerland’s small size and population, it took us almost 100 years (beginning with the Treaty of Vienna in 1815, which set the country’s current borders) for the Swiss system to achieve a proper balance. Give time to time.

The cohabitation of different cultures made it necessary to create protective systems for minorities and small entities to empower them to maintain their interest in playing the game further on. Be smart.

The co-management of the country by these various entities was only possible through a strong collective will to remain independent AND as one as the same time. Diversity contributed to the strengthening (and not the division) of the country’s unity, for when up against powerful neighbours it was vital for survival that people stand together rather than as enemies. What are you fighting for?

This culture of pragmatism is based on a willingness to find a solution that, given the situation, guarantees the largest possible majority the maximum possible amount of benefits, and perpetuates collective living in the long-term, even if the latter comes at the price of being temporarily slightly cut off from the outside world. Think glocal.

Switzerland is also witnessing the emergence of an uninhibited right wing, an openly xenophobic far right, populism and governments conveying a strong sense of nationalism. The classic democratic model is increasingly being called into question or revealing its limits. The emergence of social media has completely redefined political culture, resulting in a kind of permanent electoral campaign in search of publicity via opinion poll or “likes”. This constant changing of minds and moods creates a certain civic fatigue, indeed a feeling of “saturation”, which benefits politicians in favour of powerful, even authoritarian regimes. The universalism of democratic and civic values which brought about the creation of modern nations in Europe (liberty, equality, fraternity) has been called into question and must be considered in a new light.

In such a context, the balance to be found between a solitary “pick and choose” attitude and a giving up of all our core interests is particularly challenging. Any signal showing up muscles first from the partner side is unlikely to be convincing.

About the author

Serge Fornerod is the Director of the Department of International Relations at the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, Berne. He was the Moderator of the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches from 2010 and 2014). For 9 years he was a pastor with the Evangelical Reformed Church in the Swiss Canton of Vaud (1986-1995).