By Nenad Radicevic

Not only once have the Eurosceptics in Serbia brought up Switzerland as an example and argument of the European country that can be rich and at the same time not the member of the European Union. However, at their recent referendum the Swiss have showed their multiple connections with the European Union and its functioning as well as that they did not mind making those connections even deeper. Moreover, world economic crisis has convinced the Swiss that, in spite of the Euroscepticism tradition, their country cannot be the "black hole" in the middle of Europe.

At the referendum, held on February 8th, Swiss citizens have been deciding on the so-called Brussels Bilateral Agreements with the EU, i.e., on the renewal of Switzerland`s agreement with the European Union on free movement of people, as well as on the approval of a protocol to extend the agreement on free movement to Romania and Bulgaria. In spite of the Swiss People`s Party (the biggest party in the country) call for voters not to support the government`s proposal, the agreement was approved by 59.6 percent of voters and just in four out of 26 cantons the EU agreement was rejected.

The Swiss People`s Party and the group of citizens in Geneva and Italian part of Switzerland, dissatisfied with great number of people coming every day from France and Italy to Switzerland for work, have led the campaign against the referendum. However, it was successful in just three traditionally conservative and isolationist cantons in the German speaking territories as well as in the Ticino canton with the majority speaking Italian.

The Swiss People`s Party and its leader Christoph Blocher have maintained that the referendum "yes" would lead to the loss of jobs in Switzerland, bigger taxes and the rise of crime. He has asserted all this in spite of the agreement providing for gradual job market opening and transitional period of seven years during which the official Bern could limit the number of immigrants coming from Bulgaria and Romania by establishing yearly quotas for the work permits issuing.

In four cantons, mainly rural or with big unemployment rate, reigned have the fear from new Romanian and Bulgarian less qualified workers willing to work for smaller wages. However, voting the way they did, the majority of the Swiss has showed they had realised the break of the agreement would have meant the beginning of the economic catastrophe of this country surrounded by the European Union.

Since 1960, when it joined the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA), this Alpine country has multiply strengthened its relations with the EU on all levels. Therefore, it currently needs smooth cooperation with the Union in order to keep the existing standard.

First in 1972, it signed the Free Trade Agreement with the European Economic Community and in 1989 the Insurance Agreement. By signing two Bilateral Agreements (in 1999 and 2004) and more than 100 technical agreements on most issues, this country has put in order its relations with the EU. Finally, starting this year, Switzerland has become the full member of the Schengen Agreement making it the part of the unique Schengen area without borders.

The essence of the special Switzerland-EU relations is in two packages of adopted bilateral agreements that involve free movement of persons, air and road traffic, agriculture, technical trade barriers, public procurement, science, fighting fraud cooperation, asylum and Schengen membership. The last agreement covers open questions on agriculture, environment, media, education, care of the elderly, statistics and services.

Bilateral Agreements` provisions provide the Swiss with the same rights as the Union citizens have while in some segments they have even more privileges that the Europeans who come from some of the new member states of the EU.

For example, the Swiss living and studying or working in the EU territory have same rights as an average German or Dutch while the Slovaks, Poles, Cypriots or Hungarians have to realise special standards or quotas in order to get the right to work in Switzerland.

Since both Bilateral Agreements have the common "guillotine clause" enabling both parties to nullify the whole set of agreement in case new agreement or provision cannot be applied in Switzerland, the Swiss "no" at the referendum could have led to absolute break of all the rights and privileges.

For Switzerland such break of economic and social connections with the EU would have meant catastrophe starting with, say, famous Swiss cheese export to the Union that would be burdened with new expenses, all the way to additional complications in passenger, air and railway traffic.

Estimations are that this could have led to stagnation of economic and social systems. This, however, is not acceptable for the Swiss even as a possibility, as can clearly be concluded judging by the voting results. During the time of crisis, the citizens of the small Alpine country have demonstrated "economic pragmatism" but in spite of close connections with the EU, they still do not wish to join it. According to the Swiss Confederation Ambassador to the EU in Brussels Jacques de Watteville, Swiss citizens fear from the European Union membership since they think it could influence their three fundamental principles - direct democracy, neutrality and federalism.