Legend:
Keystone
22. October 1991 Negotiators from the EC (now the EU) and the EFTA conclude their negotiations on the European Economic Area (EEA) in Luxembourg. Federal Councilors Felber and Delamuraz will also be there. At 4 a.m. the two call a press conference in the building of the EC Commission and announce that the Federal Council regards the EEA as just a stage on the way to full accession to the EC.
- In retrospect, the Federal Council thus provided the EEA opponents with an important argument for later victory in the vote.
February 7, 1992 The EC countries sign the Maastricht Treaty. It is the largest integration step since the founding of the EC and the basis for the creation of economic and monetary union.
- Only three years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this is another sign that the political order in Europe is changing rapidly.
18. May 1992 The Federal Council decides to submit an official request to the EC to start accession negotiations.
- The decision stems from the fear of a majority in the Federal Council that Switzerland will miss out on the dynamics in Europe and suffer economic damage as a result.
December 6, 1992 The Swiss electorate said no to the EEA with 50.3%.
- A shock for the political elite in Switzerland, who fought unitedly for a yes. And a victory for Christoph Blocher and the beginning of the rise of his decidedly right-wing conservative SVP.
February 20, 1994 The Swiss voters say yes to the Alpine Protection Initiative with 51.9%. It demands that transalpine goods transit be shifted from road to rail.
- From the EU’s point of view, this is another affront to Switzerland and a major stumbling block for the forthcoming bilateral negotiations.
December 1994 Start of negotiations between Switzerland and the EU on bilateral agreements. The EU had shown itself willing to negotiate on seven areas, on the condition that the treaties can only enter into force once agreement has been reached on all seven areas. On June 21, 1999, that is the case.
- This condition of the EU takes place as so-called «Guillotine clause» included in the seven agreements. It states that if one agreement is terminated, all others are also suspended. For example, the EU wanted to prevent Switzerland from only agreeing to a treaty where it is in its interest (“cherry picking”).
21. May 2000 The electorate said yes to the bilateral agreements with 67.2%.
- Almost eight years after the EEA no, Switzerland is still able to join the European single market. The danger of isolation has been averted for the time being. At the same time, EU accession is politically a long way off.
March 3, 2002 54.6% of the electorate said yes to joining the UN.
- Switzerland is taking a big step back onto the international stage.
1. May 2004 Ten countries join the EU, including eight from Eastern Europe. The EU will thus increase from 15 to 25 members. It is the Union’s largest enlargement step to date.
- The division of Europe from the Cold War will thus be overcome.
26. October 2004 Switzerland and the EU sign a second set of bilateral agreements. Among other things, it regulates cooperation in border controls and in the asylum system (Schengen and Dublin regulations). A referendum is held against this part of the Bilaterals II.
- It is the result of a classic give and take. Both sides have issues on which more cooperation is important to them, and this creates an overall package.
5. June 2005 The electorate said yes to Schengen/Dublin with 54.6%.
25. September 2005 56% of the electorate said yes to extending the free movement of people to ten new EU countries.
26. November 2006 The electorate said yes to the Eastern Aid Act with 53%. It is the basis for the payment of the so-called “cohesion billion” to the Eastern European EU states.
February 8, 2009 With 59.6%, the electorate said yes to the extension of the free movement of persons to the new EU members Bulgaria and Romania.
- This series of voting successes confirms the Federal Council in its course to consolidate relations with the EU.
December 18, 2013 The Federal Council decides on a mandate for negotiations with the EU on a framework agreement. It is intended to clarify open institutional questions, in particular how conflicts in the interpretation of the bilateral agreements can be settled.
- In the negotiating mandate, the Federal Council sets “red lines”. With them he wants to protect the core concerns of important political actors such as the trade unions or the bourgeois parties and thus secure political support.
February 9, 2014 The electorate supports the mass immigration initiative (MEI) with 50.3% yes votes. She calls for a restriction on immigration, which would contradict the agreement on the free movement of people with the EU.
- The result of the vote calls into question the entire first set of bilateral agreements. The Parliament saved itself from the impasse by implementing the “creative” initiative. In relations with the EU, the referendum led to months of radio silence.
24. November 2015 Resumption of negotiations on the framework agreement
- End of the official radio silence between Bern and Brussels since the MEI vote
15. June 2016 As the second chamber, the Council of States votes for Switzerland to withdraw its application for membership from Brussels.
- The option of full accession to the EU has always remained a theoretical one. Now she’s also formally off the table. For “Brussels”, the step is another “unfriendly act”.
23. June 2016 51.9% of voters in Great Britain voted to leave the EU (Brexit).
- In view of this new existential challenge, many believe that the EU is less willing to respond to Switzerland’s wishes.
20. September 2017 FDP National Councilor Ignazio Cassis is elected to the Federal Council.
- In the run-up to his election, Cassis had announced in an interview that he would advocate a fresh start in relation to the EU and would press the “reset” button.
12. June 2018 In an interview with Radio SRF, Cassis put the accompanying measures up for discussion. Among other things, they ensure that suppliers from the EU area are not allowed to engage in wage dumping in Switzerland.
- This is an affront to the unions. They adopt a blockade attitude in European politics.
23. November 2018 Cassis speaks in Zurich with EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn about the status of the negotiations on the framework agreement.
- The EU considers the negotiations to be over, but Switzerland does not.
December 7, 2018 The Federal Council is launching a public consultation on the framework agreement.
- This gives him time to rally a political majority for the agreement.
7. June 2019 After the consultation, the Federal Council declared to the EU that there was a need for clarification on three points of the framework agreement.
- From Brussels’ point of view, however, the maximum of concessions to Switzerland has already been achieved.
18. June 2019 The EU decides not to extend the so-called stock exchange equivalence – an administrative measure that damages the Swiss stock exchange.
- A purely technical question is politically charged by the EU. From the point of view of the Federal Council, this is tantamount to an attempt at blackmail.
27. September 2020 The electorate rejects the limitation initiative with 61.7%.
- With it, the SVP wanted to force the verbatim implementation of its mass immigration initiative of 2014.
14. October 2020 The Federal Council appoints Livia Leu as its new chief negotiator vis-à-vis the EU.
- Leu is the fifth person to hold this position in four years.
26. May 2021 Switzerland breaks off negotiations on a framework agreement.
- In the relationship between Switzerland and the EU, the provisional low point has been reached. Opinions on how to proceed are miles apart.