Switzerland has structured its ties with the European Union using the “bilateral approach”. This has yielded a considerable number of advantages for our country. The Swiss people have repeatedly voted in favour of this approach.

Thanks to the bilateral agreements, Switzerland has become stronger and more open. We have secured virtually unobstructed access to the European market and our businesses have made gains in terms of competitiveness and innovative capacity as a result. If necessary, key functions for which there is a skills shortage can be recruited for from the whole of Europe. And finally, the personal freedoms of each and every individual have also increased. It would therefore be negligent of us to abandon the course we have chosen.

This includes securing, modernizing and if necessary expanding the bilateral approach. That is why Swissmem is fundamentally in favour of Switzerland’s institutional framework agreement (InstA) with the EU. At the bottom line, this generates benefits for Switzerland.

It secures our privileged access to the EU single market, permits new contracts, preserves Swiss sovereignty and provides a functional dispute resolution mechanism. It increases legal certainty. It places relations with Europe on a footing that will be sustainable over the long term.