When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Switzerland

Why The Time Is Ripe For Switzerland To Finally Join The European Union

At the Swiss-EU border
At the Swiss-EU border
Anne Carron-Cescato and Patrick Vallat*

-Essay-

GENEVA – May is the month of Europe, celebrating the anniversary of the creation of the Council of Europe on May 5, and of the European Union on May 9.

It is the opportunity to commemorate a man who played a determining role in Switzerland’s prosperity. This man was Robert Schumann, the French foreign minister who, on May 9, 1950 – with the declaration bearing his name – laid the foundations of peace and prosperity in Europe by putting an end to the conflicts that were tearing apart the continent.

By inviting former enemies France and Germany to manage their steel and coal industries jointly, Schumann hoped to achieve a gradual political integration of European countries by creating common interests.

Ironically, this "small steps" policy is the model adopted by Switzerland to "elude" European membership. The New Swiss European Movement (NOMES) believes that our country was right to develop a special relationship with Europe, but that it should fully embrace the objective of membership so as to achieve a harmonious integration into the EU. We believe that Switzerland should join the EU standing on its feet, rather than on its knees – as some European countries were forced to do after grave economic crises. Our history proves that the EU serves our national interest.

The EU has been very beneficial to our country. The 60 years of peace it has given the continent has guaranteed a stability that allowed our economic actors to thrive. It has also made it possible for us to allocate fewer resources to arming ourselves and more resources to social progress. Let's not forget that before 1950, our country was at risk of complete destruction, at the whim of nationalistic and imperial powers.

Europe’s integration of countries from the Eastern bloc after the collapse of the Soviet Union was inherent to this process, allowing the end of the Cold War and to the East-West rift, which were great factors of instability on the continent.

Now that banking secrecy is over...

The huge European market, dominated by the principles of free trade, allows our companies to export in colossal numbers. Even the euro – so reviled today – benefits our country, which does not have to struggle any more against the devaluations of 17 European currencies to maintain its exports.

It is important to point out that the current debt issues that plague EU member-states are the result of the failings of national sovereignty, which encouraged local demagogue politicians to ignore the deficit and debt break criteria defined by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 – before the Swiss debt break was implemented.

The end of Switzerland’s banking secrecy and preferential corporate tax regime for foreign multinationals – which were for a long time the country’s major assets – should encourage us to rethink the nature of our relationship with the EU.

[rebelmouse-image 27086823 alt="""" original_size="320x240" expand=1]

(James Cridland)

By joining the European Union, Switzerland would not have to worry about blockades and other forms of blackmail – as was often the case during bilateral negotiations. It could focus all its energy on creating favorable and durable framework conditions for its economy. And as a member of the EU, Switzerland would at last have the possibility to influence decisions in its favor, as the other small countries within the EU have been able to.

Faced with the rise of great powers, Switzerland cannot afford to go it alone any more. "Nothing lasting is created when things are too easy," warned Robert Schuman when he described his vision of a united Europe. This has never been truer.

* The authors are members of the New Swiss European Movement (NOMES)

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Migrant Lives

What's Driving More Venezuelans To Migrate To The U.S.

With dimmed hopes of a transition from the economic crisis and repressive regime of Nicolas Maduro, many Venezuelans increasingly see the United States, rather than Latin America, as the place to rebuild a life..

Photo of a family of Migrants from Venezuela crossing the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum​

Migrants from Venezuela crossed the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum.

Julio Borges

-Analysis-

Migration has too many elements to count. Beyond the matter of leaving your homeland, the process creates a gaping emptiness inside the migrant — and outside, in their lives. If forced upon someone, it can cause psychological and anthropological harm, as it involves the destruction of roots. That's in fact the case of millions of Venezuelans who have left their country without plans for the future or pleasurable intentions.

Their experience is comparable to paddling desperately in shark-infested waters. As many Mexicans will concur, it is one thing to take a plane, and another to pay a coyote to smuggle you to some place 'safe.'

Venezuela's mass emigration of recent years has evolved in time. Initially, it was the middle and upper classes and especially their youth, migrating to escape the socialist regime's socio-political and economic policies. Evidently, they sought countries with better work, study and business opportunities like the United States, Panama or Spain. The process intensified after 2017 when the regime's erosion of democratic structures and unrelenting economic vandalism were harming all Venezuelans.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest