Introduction

The Swiss Confederation, located in the very heart of the European continent, is not a member of the European Union (EU), nor indeed of the European Economic Area (EEA). Even so, Switzerland's relations with the EU are dense and intense and in constant evolution. They have been developed in an ad hoc way and are founded on specific institutional mechanisms. Some 20 agreements of primary importance, together with one hundred or so secondary agreements are linking Switzerland with the EU today.

The aim of this contribution is to examine Switzerland's relations with the EU from a legal point of view. After a brief look at the history of these relations, which should help to better understand their specificity, the basic contents of each of the two main groups of bilateral agreements (the Bilateral Agreements I and II), their institutional framework and their characteristics will be studied in order to determine their position in the EC legal order. These Agreements will then be examined in the light of the EEA Agreement, before a global appraisal of the legal and political situation is made in order to determine the main options for future Swiss European policy.

Historical background

Switzerland, as a country that has traditionally been neutral, at the end of World War II and in the context of the Cold War, refrained from full participation in the process of integration which started in Western Europe.