Why does Switzerland Refuse to Join the European Union?

24 comments

1. Because the EU would make much more Problems than solve it.

2. dont join/invest in a broken business 😀

3. Hope it never does. I really love it here.

4. Because were better off not being in the EU

5. I hope it does join. Ideals, values and ethics are very similar to the rest of Europe. I can understand neutrality when surrounded by 2 hostile superpowers like France and Germany, but now we’re all friends here. If the EU is ever involved in a war, I want to fight side by side with our European brothers and sisters. The EU is a trade alliance, it doesn’t aim to take away anyones money or rob anyone of culture or national identity. It’s an organization that helps one another.

6. As a German European, I can say: the EU is essentially just costing a lot of money. Causing problems and shifting money from one country to the other. This makes sense if every country has the same “potential” or “advantages” but you can not expect all countries and their economies to work synchronized. It will always be about a few countries bailing others out and (not) changing rates because some countries Simply would default.

   If Switzerland joined, they would be the stupid cash cow for Italy, Greece, Portugal and probably at some point even Germany.
   I feel like the EU is trying to take the right to have any say from the public and Switzerland wants the people to speak up. That system would not work for Swiss people.

7. Because it’s slowly but surely crumbling. And besides joining would mean giving up a lot of what makes Switzerland an amazing county to live in.

8. I have no interest in being part of the EU. Just go to any of the European reddit and you can see people calling for a federal state of Europe and a standard army. This is the future of the EU, or at least some people’s vision of it. I don’t mind the common regulatory, safety, standards and such of the EU, but joining something where an EU government is deciding international military policy is not something I want to do. It is the opposite of neutrality and self determination.

9. I don’t know anyone family or friend that can vote who would vote for it. But hey does post adhere to rule 3?

10. Because Switzerland is soooooo terribly awfully unique that it just can’t. It’s a snowflake.

11. We are the kings of Rosinenpickerei and don’t see a need to change anything about it

12. Because we’re doing just fine without them?

13. Repost from 4 days ago?

    https://old.reddit.com/r/Switzerland/comments/vzlf5a/eli5_what_makes_the_european_union_incompatible/

    > There are certainly some practical issues: there are disagreements over labour market regulations, minimum VAT tax rates. But also the very slow speed of political consensus-building in Switzerland would make it exceedingly difficult to function adequately when finding an overall consensus with 27 other states is necessary. And of course, referenda.

    > But there are 2 deeper, philosophical reasons why joining the EU wouldn’t make sense:

    > 1. The founding myth of the tragedy in the 20th century: You’ll notice how the idea of a calamity, some event that caused deep societal hardship in the 20th century, plays a central role in the EU’s founding mythology: “Never again”, “Nation-states can’t survive on their own”, etc etc. Obviously the main one is WW1 and WW2, but many EU members experienced other national adversities: the shattering of the European colonial empires and associated diminishing of global importance; the violent dictatorships in Southern Europe and the economic suffering they caused; the military threat coming from the Soviet Union; and of course communism, which is like the last 3 national calamities all wrapped into one. And the EU is presented as means to fix to these national tragedies.

    > Switzerland, by contrast, is virtually the only European country that has not faced any national tragedy during the 20th century. Occasional challenges, sure, but nation-defining tragedies? Hardships so great they left a permanent mark on their societies? Debacles that put the entire country into question? No. Switzerland never had an empire, didn’t participate in the World Wars, fulfilled it’s security needs through armed neutrality, was always content with being a small state, and has only experienced democracy, political stability and economic prosperity from the 1900s onwards. This is crucial, because it means there is no deeper pull-factor to join the EU. Of course, many Swiss really like the concept of the EU (as it markets itself, at least), want to support it and see it grow. But are they really committed beyond a superficial, aesthetically level? Are they ready to transform the existing system in depth to accommodate the overarching interests and political mechanisms of the EU? No, absolutely nobody is ready to do that in Switzerland. Because unlike in other EU countries, there is simply no society-defining experience in Switzerland that would motivate such a move. Simply put, Switzerland has proven itself to be far to competent at overcoming it’s challenges since 1848 for it’s society to think there is anything wrong with the current system.

    > 2. Switzerland is not a nation-state: The EU, at it’s core, strives to be a framework for dialogue between the different peoples of Europe, for them to express their interests in a new, common political system in order to prevent future conflicts between these nations. It is, fundamentally, built for nation-states, i.e. states that define themselves around their nation, their cultural tribe, their ethnicity; and the EU aims to built a political scaffolding around them. Problem is, Switzerland is not a nation-state. It’s not a country that defines itself on a specific identity; rather, it is a nation by (political) will, with it’s constituents sharing a common history and political system, but not a common cultural tribe. So when EU advocates say they want to solve conflicts between nation-states by creating a brand-new political system; from the point of view of a country where the political system is a sacred cow and very much a defining feature that makes it’s society function, and which has no perception of political violence between different ethnicities… it just doesn’t resonate in the same way. If anything, it’s more of a push-factor.

14. Because it sucks balls and if you ask any single citizen in EU they will tell you that things went south since we joined EU

15. Because it’s not feasible and would cause serious instability which outweighs the benefits of joining.

    That’s said, the framework agreement is not the same as joining the EU. This is more about bilateral deals.

16. Switzerland although not perfect is doing great as it is, I cannot see it doing better within the EU as it stands. We have a regular referendum political system both locally and nationally.

17. Just read “Antifragile” and you’ll know why. Such a big centralized entity may be efficient for a short time but any small error will be and has proven to be fatal.

    The EU was a good idea to stop the member countries to kill each other in endless wars. But then politics got too far and today EU citizen are not allowed to call bananas bananas, screw in light bulbs and they are not allowed **to hold most financial instruments (ETF)**. They just pay, pay and pay. The system is very efficient for “political sponsorship” which is a very cheap method for big companies to squeeze citizen.

18. because eu is a ponzi

19. The Swiss politicians in Bern would love to. They would get a lot of privileges and jobs in Bruxelles. Unfortunately for them, the way to EU goes over a referendum.

20. I think they EU should remain but have three currencies (north, south, east) so when one region has a problem their currencies can fall to improve their export earnings. That’s how most countries have a built in mechanism that automatically help in troubled times. No cash needed if export receipts go up 20pct and suddenly more tourist dollars come to you. When the currency goes up it’s because you are doing well and investment is inbound. It’s a great system than the EU gave away with one single unit of exchange.

    Edit: and they also have power over their own interest rates too for controlling inflation, housing and debt.

    Second edit: Switzerland should also remain independent of this system too.

21. It’s way too complicated.
    The basis of the system is a problem. We vote for EVERYTHING on big natianal levels, cantons, even smaller places.
    Imagine beingnin the EU in the first place all the things we had to adopt which you cannot impose on the people. This whole thing ALONE would be one big pain in the ass or you would instantly loose all trust in the gov.

    It’s not even a “do you want ot not?” Its by the system alone which is a big fking problem.
    But next to that, the majority does not wanna join anyway. Which was voted on i think serval times before.

22. Wr are smart 😉

23. Ah yes, I would love to have tyrannical corrupt centralized government in Bruxelles dictating what I must do here and taking 50% of my work away.

24. Better question why the fuck would we join? I mean who looks at a massive ship that is burning, slowly sinking and has regular explosions on deck?