Introduction

Although Switzerland is at the heart of Europe, the country resembles a tiny island on the political map of Europe, surrounded by the twenty-seven member states of the European Union. In chapter 2 we argued that recent domestic and international developments have altered Switzerland's renowned political-island status. However, its outsider position in EU politics, due to its formal non-membership, prevents the country from full political integration. As we shall see in this chapter, solutions have nonetheless been found that allow Switzerland to deal with the challenges imposed by European integration.

We commence this chapter by providing a historical overview of the relations between the European Union and Switzerland. Structured in four stages, this overview is followed by a discussion of the prospects for eventual EU accession. We will conclude this chapter by arguing that Switzerland's current and probable future relationship with the EU can best be characterized as a ‘customized quasi-membership’.

Historical overview

The historical outline of Switzerland's relationship with the European Community (EC), and later with the EU, can be structured in four, consecutive stages: initial multilateral failures, stagnation, further multilateral failure and enhanced unilateral and bilateral integration.

Stage one: initial multilateral failures (1955–72)

The developments leading to the Treaties of Rome, which created the European Economic Community (EEC; now known simply as the European Community or EC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) in 1957, demanded a Swiss reaction in order to avoid the country's isolation.