2.5.3 Switzerland: EU and participation in other international organizations
Description
This article is from the Switzerland FAQ, by Marc Schaefer schaefer@alphanet.ch with numerous contributions by others.
2.5.3 Switzerland: EU and participation in other international organizations
Currently these are hot topics in Switzerland. Switzerland is not a
member of EU. As of 2002-03-03, Switzerland is now a member of UNO
(initiative accepted by the people): in addition, Switzerland has
participated, in the past, in most UNO offices and projects and tries
to set up/has bilateral agreements with the EU. Switzerland *is* a
member of the European Council and holds full membership in other
pan-European and international organizations: the OSCE (formerly
CSCE), the ESA (European Space Agency) the OECD, the WTO, the World
Bank and the IMF to name only a few. Joining or not joining the EU is
really one of the hottest topics in Switzerland.
It is a pity that both the defenders and attackers of the
participation in the European Union are using demagogic arguments. A
key issue is the complete mobility rights enjoyed by EU citizens to
move within the EU. If Switzerland joined the EU, many citizens are
concerned that the traditional character of the Swiss people would be
swamped by an influx of foreigners no longer controllable by Swiss
law. (Remember that Switzerland already has one of the highest levels
of foreigners--more than one out of seven inhabitants--of any country
in the world. Some Cantons have rates above one third).
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