Politicians are pathological liars, they tell you what's necessary to get elected and do what suits them best when they are elected. So a system like Switzerland's that keeps them constantly in check, where every single decision they make, can be overturned by the people, would constitute a massive increase of power of the PEOPLE within the EU.
This! EU should ask for Swiss membership! Or at least adopt the swiss political model. Did you know that the Swiss has no head of state? It's brilliant.
@@jokuvaan5175 It actually had to do with the Incelandic banking system which collapsed in 2009 and took out a lot of investments from EU member states. EU member states asked for reparations which Iceland refused. Then countries like the UK and Netherlands started vetoing Iceland so that they couldn't join the union. To this day Iceland still hasn't paid these financial institutions back even though Iceland had an agreement to compensate a certain % of losses in case of a bank run.
Much of the popular Swiss chocolate is produced in german locations (since it is cheaper) ;). It isn’t pricier because it is produced there - it is pricier because there is „Swiss“ printed on the packaging.
As an Austrian, I see the Swiss as our slighty quirky but very smart and hardworking neighbours who seem to know exactly what they want. If they want to join, awesome, if they don't, wonderful. I don't think the Swiss would overly benefit from joining at this point, other than maybe some streamlining of processes. I highly doubt that they would every completely break with the EU through, considering how many people have to cross the Austria/Switzerland border alone on a daily basis. Being landlocked usually means you can't quite do it all alone.
@@KathyClysm I wouldnt be too sure about that. If the EU doesnt want to have us as an independent ally ( not on the military side ) wich lifes to its own rules ( if needed ) then im pretty sure the swiss would go to the last. If we would have to accept EU laws and getting sanctions for not doing so we would probably go as far as loosing our belateral agreements just to have our own rules and laws. We love europe and know its very important for us but nothing is more important for a swiss then hes freedome. I bet we would go the hard way and try to make new deals ( or loose all ) with each state or someone else just to have our own rules and laws ( if needed. most stuff of the eu we accept without problems but we want to be able to say NO and if the EU wants to take that away from us then we are gone :P )
From Switzerland: Independence and neutrality are actually right wing talking points. They mean: no immigrants, no solidarity with the world. The rest knows it's only a myth. 60% of our country is ice and rocks... we could not even feed ourselves. And we wouldn't have this standard of living if we didn't help exploit other countries. Cocoa doesn't grow in our climate and imagine how much chocolate would cost if we paid fair prices to cocoa farmers...m And there are the criminal banks. But they are not what makes us rich. Private banks are international institutions who pay not their fair share of taxes. Banks do not make a country rich. They make rich people richer.
The development of this relationship over these many years shows one thing very clearly. It takes a lot of effort and time to come up with suitable solutions for a balanced relationship. And a direct democracy can only work with an educated population, that is willing to take political matters seriously.
west europe is already weak at their own point it would be better if switzerland joins EU and NATO and also for the austria to join NATO also because western european is not a strong force enough when russia which is also a european power is already against them and europe has been always divided Europe being one country including all former eastern bloc states especially russia would make them a lot powerful to counter china
@@NICOLAS-ol9fq maybe because switzerland is afraid to get invaded or to have wars that will lead to the occupation of their country OR swiss have a very weak army and afraid to join any organization that involve military and economy will lead them to dangers of war
Please make a video about the relationship between the EU and North African countries (the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership). 🌍
Switzerland's current negotiations for a framework with the EU are also on hold due to the BREXIT negotiations. Switzerland has made many many concessions to the EU for access to their markets, freedom of travel etc... The UK is negotiating for the same rights, but without the concessions. If the EU folds in to the UK, then obviously Switzerland will argue their case based on that outcome.
@@idkimlikereallybored9533 As someone from a Zürich rural area i agree with you agree and while we're at it we can sell of the French speaking part to the EU as they want to be rather in the EU than in Switzerland. And let's also get rid of the european court of human rights, the concept i guess but in practice it's being used as political tool to prevent deportation and stuff.
I've both Eu and Swiss citizenships and would: 1. Like to see the EU become more Swiss and: 2. I'd like to see the Swiss become more European. Does it make sense?
I'm actually not that keen on direct democracy as it has a bit of a flaw in it. In many situations where you need laws, not that many are interested as it gets more and more smaller bits and pieces. In large matters people tend to entrench into their views that reality doesn't need to have a say in the matter. Also there are people who are interested mainly in subject X and would get into anything relevant to X while most would just ignore it meaning that the group has more say in X than it normally would. Representations point is that it is their job (and thus have more time) to get into the subjects more to have sensible view of it. Of course they being people too are just as easily swayed into those trenches so ... It is a complicated matter and it's not like politicians make it any easier either.
There actually is a Norm how the Swiss Flag has to be proportioned in the normal Rectangular Format of most other Flags. Square Flags aren't allowed sometimes; e.g. do the Swiss Ships fly that rectangular Flags at Sea (Inland Shipping on the Lakes, Rivers and Canals allows square Flags)
It would be interesting to know if there is an international standard for flag size ratios, because I’d assume that even countries with what we might call rectangle flags, probably don’t all have the same width to heigh ratio. In this case I suspect it was a design choice so every flag looked the same shape, to go along with the more minimalist look of TLDR’s content.
@@AaronMcHale yes you are correct. flags are standardised for certain events. The Olympics use 3:5 and the UN and EU use 2:3. 2:3 is the most common format (like France and Italy) but some are 3:5 (Germany and Trinidad) and 1:2 (UK and many former USSR states). Some countries like the US or Denmark have very odd proportions. Most flags you buy on the consumer market are 3:5, usually 3' x 5' in North America.
The big problem (that apparently is not really well understood in Brussels) is that direct democracy is not only a political system for us. It is in fact a core principle of our identity and of what it means to be Swiss. If the idea of the EU is basically to have us cancel direct democracy I have bad news for them.
@Taiwanlight There is no vote for individual laws. This is what democracy is: The population has the last word. Here we can make a initiative or a referendum (in case a new law is proposed which we do not like) and after that people vote to accept a new law or not. Selecting a group, that selects some people, that then select some other people that make new laws, which you have no control over, is not really a democracy if you ask me.
This is not bad news for us. We don't care if you want to join the EU. If you want to join, then you are welcome, otherwise stay out. It is your choice. We sell you more than you sell us, so we are earning money out of the current trade situation. This is fine. Just keep it as it is. Nobody forces you to join, and "Brussels" has no say in this. If you want to join the EU, you first need the permission of your own people via a referendum, and then you need the permission of every single EU member state. If any one of them refuses, you stay out. "Brussels" has no say in this. This principle is clearly not really well understood by you. This is a big problem with many people around Europe, who think they are being ruled by "the EU". This is nonsense, as "the EU" cannot make any decisions. All decisions are made by the (democratically elected) EU parliament and the 27 individual governments, who make up the Council. That's it. Without the support of Council and parliament, NOTHING CHANGES. How you organise your own country, with whatever democratic system, is up to you. The EU does not force any member to change its political system and way of making decisions nationally.
@@TheRealHelvetica They are but with the lack of reforms in the country and with the current government in power, it's unlikely that Turkey will join the EU any time soon and in all honesty, Turkey seems to be moving in the opposite direction on that. I can't see any of that getting back on track until a new government is in power in Turkey.
@@TheRealHelvetica turkey, as a country threatening an eu members with war and violating greek and cyprus economical zones, there is currently no chance for any step to become an eu member.
I'd love to see a video about the Vietnam and EU free trade agreement since till now only trade agreement with relatively rich nations with competitive economies were shown and the Vietnam trade agreement is quite a deviation from that
Fun fact there will be a Referendum this September in Switzerland, about whether or not to limit EU Immigration. If this referendum is accepted, all bilateral contracts will likely be cancelled, as a main condition for them is free movement between the EU and Switzerland
@@briangasser973 Well actually many EU nationals come to Switzerland because they simply get paid more than in their home country. Once they live here they can afford a living with their new wages
Switzerland has always had aproblem with foreign nationals, not just EU citizens. When I worked in Geneva 30 years ago 25% of the resident population held non Swiss passports and the problem arose because Switzerland hosts the European HQs of so many multinationals . Switzerlandobjection is not to cheap labour . I can remember one guy complaining to me that his young daughter, who spoke several languages, was earning much more than him (he was a tradesman), as a secretary in a multinational. You give tax breaks and other incentives to foreign companies they'll bring in foreigners.
Though personally in favour of integrating the Balkan nations into the EU, I currently think it's a political mistake. However I would like to see a good video on the pro and cons. Would be an interesting video.
Money isn't the issue. Of course they'll cost money like with Italy or Poland, but I think these Balkan nations have bigger issues. The EU is a peace project, but as long as there are ethnic Albanians and Serbs claiming eachother's territory, peace is very unstable in that region.
I am a German currently living in Switzerland and I can tell you I won't stay forever. It took me three months to miss all the basic privileges of living in the EU, including such simple to things as using one cell phone contract everywhere, ordering stuff on amazon or being able to wire money without ridiculous costs. So from my point of view, the Swiss can only benefit from joining the EU. Most of them might not agree though, because what the video did not mention is that public votes in Switzerland have currently put the bilateral agreement on the chopping block. For example, Switzerland has not ratified the necessary contracts with croatia because of that. So the current situation is more difficult than you might expect
The EU is not democratic enough for Switzerland. Yes there are things like cell phone romaning, but i do not think that this is worth losing democracy. I do not want to buy at Amazon, Amazon is not very employee friendly to say the least despite having the richest CEO. Amazon is ruthless and i do not want to support it. I am happy that they do not sell here. I think you can avoid most transactions costs when you know how.
The EU-Swiss relations are an important litmus test for the EU leadership. I kind of like how they haven't fallen in line, which in part has been keeping the EU side more honest. Ending the Swiss stock exchange is one such moment of honesty, where they obviously lost their temper a bit. It gives everyone important insight into how the EU as a whole handles a delicate negotiation that the EU leadership could easily be very frustrated with.
As a swiss citizen i can tell you that the majority of swiss populace strongly opposes to join the EU and quite frankly is quite bored of the antics of the EU by trying to force their laws above ours and removing us from the stock change. There will be huge vote end of this month that will decide if the bilateral should be re negotiated by our government or not.
We will never join the EU. As soon as a deal would be finalised that would push EU-Rules over swiss rules, we will make a referendum that makes it impossible to make this deal. Most of our law-rules are Kanton-bases, the smalles Kanton counts about 16'000 people, we don't want to adobt (stupid) EU-rules. And because we have the best political system in the world, there are no corrupt politicians that can force this bullshit on us.
Should they seek EU membership? I don't know, I'm not Swiss and I am always eager to back off from telling people how they should feel. For example as much as I'd like to see a united Ireland and Scotland rejoining us here in the EU, it is not my place to say they should do these things. What I would say is that if the people of Switzerland feel they now want membership, then I'd be happy to see that.
I'm pretty sure we as a population don't want that. But only the party called SVP has been against it the entire time. All the other parties try to enter the EU more or less often.
Well to sum up the development in recent years: (The majority in) Switzerland wants to keep things as they are, with bilateral agreements, but the EU is putting more and more pressure on Switzerland to join on one hand, while disconnected further and further from their own people. As a swiss, I'm very afraid, of joining the EU. Not because of foreigners coming into Switzerland, that argument doesn't exist (we have 25% foreigners here and the majority of swiss ppl doesn't mind), but because of the foreign leadership, with legislators who are 1) not accountable, because they vote about so many things in such a short time, that they themselves can't fully undestand what they're voting about 2) they vote only "theoretically" transparently, as the protocol of voting sessions is such a mess, that the politicians get angry, if someone actually makes the effort to point out who voted for what (see copyright in the digital single market aka "EU censorship for Big Business") 3) the optimists in the eu parlament only vote for the bigger picture of a global society and don't care about single fates and 4) the economists vote in favor of stock markets and market growth and again don't care about single fates, the argument that everyone will benefit from that is false. Only big corporate benefits, the poor get poorer, relatively of course. I really like all European people and countries, and free trade and movement would be great. But having to obey a (culturally) foreign law, foreign armies and foreign professional full time politicians is a very unsettling thought for me..
Apparently you have no clue how the EU works. 1) MEP's in the EU parliament are not more or less accountable than any other MP's in any parliament. They represent their country and are supposed to protect the interests of that country. Of something is bad for Belgium, then you can be pretty sure that Belgian MEP's will vote against it. 2) I have no idea what you're trying to say here. 3 and 4) Yes, things that are agreed on an EU level are supposed to be about the bigger picture. That's the whole point. The EU is about cooperation between countries in a uniform way, and about our position in the rest of the world, against important economies like the US, China, Japan, etc. Without the EU, every country would just do something on their own. Our power would be greatly diminished internationally. It should be clear that the existence of the EU has greatly increased our quality of life. Many hazardous substances are now removed from many products or food, not only in the EU, but sometimes also globally, because manufacturers really want to keep selling their stuff to us so they desperately want to have the CE mark on their products. Just look at what chemicals are allowed in US food and how these are banned in the EU. This directly benefits the people, while costs for big business go up. This would never have happened when each country was still on its own. Or look at how charging cables for phones will be standardised in the EU (which means Apple is not happy), and which will probably be adopted in the rest of the world. Also, don't forget that "the EU" doesn't actually make any decisions. The EU commission is like a civil service. They only enforce laws and agreements. The actual decisions are taken by EU parliament and the Council. Many of these decisions also require unanimity, so if Malta doesn't like a certain change, they can block it. The EU does NOT impose laws upon member states. This is an essential aspect of how the EU works. The downside is that "the EU" can also not make quick decisions in a crisis. People who point this out as being a bad aspect of the EU, forget that they are in fact advocating for MORE integration, which means giving the EU level more control and take it away from the member states. In short: Switzerland already follows MANY EU laws and regulations. Not because it is mandatory, but because your companies choose to do so. However, the Swiss people don't have any influence on those laws and regulations. You just have to follow what the 27 EU members decide for you. As an EU member, Switzerland would have MORE influence in Europe, compared to now. If Switzerland wants to remain neutral, then that's fine by me and your own choice, but I don't see any reason to be so afraid. The EU is 27 countries agreeing to adopt new common laws, which makes things better/easier for those countries. If those laws would make things better, they wouldn't vote for it, would they?? Besides, if you don't like where the EU is going in the future, you always have the option of leaving. The EU is not a prison.
@@janickpauwels3792 Leaving the EU isn't that easy, and for a small country practically impossible. It's perfectly understandable why a small country would be afraid, particularly when it has a tradition of direct democracy. It's fine when you have a left of centre consensus you agree with. France and Germany remain hugely influential. If more Le Pen, Farage, Orban types come to power that can change. The EU is by and large a good thing, but it needs to be more open to divergence.
This will fail, as it is bad for both sides. The two things are not really comparable. The Swiss just do not want to be forced or blackmailed under EC laws and courts, giving up direct democracy. This frame contract would be the end of the Switzerland we know. Won't happen.
6:53 I believe that at least in the medium term this will be exactly the future of the UK after Brexit. There really is no alternative to this, other than a permanent situation of no-deal which is not sustainable. A deal UK - EU as it is being negotiated now is nothing else but the start of endless bilateral negotiations. Insofar as Switzerland has had decades of experience in this field, future UK negotiators may want to discuss and analyze in detail what CH has achieved (or failed to achieve) in this regard.
I love this channel. I think it’s very well done and it gives people the opportunity to understand better how the eu works in all her complexities. I have a suggestion though, I think if you want to attract more followers you should make subtitles available for all the languages of the eu, or at least the majority of them. i’d be easier for non English speakers to watch your videos, i’d be worth it.
Switzerland democracy has a bottom-up approach, which seems as the opposite, therefore incompatible, to how a EU centralised decision making process works. History has many times over showed us that decentralisation is the only way forward and Switzerland is a living proof of it. The W.E.F. is held in Davos Switzerland for a good reason.
Yes the reason is; the Industrialists want to study corruption with the most corrupt of the corrupt ... Switzerland. Once you have recognized it, you can only be ashamed of our dirty country Switzerland. Es ischbecht zum chotze.
@@loremipsum99 Switzerland made lots of money with slavery, with the nazis, and is home to FIFA and Nestle. Prosecutors involved in corruption, the dirty and racist SVP, dictators have a free pass, money from corrupt politicians of all countries hidden in swiss banks... and they are proud of it.
@@nacachola1 Another heavily indoctrinated lefty, BLM, ANTIFA, marxist, socialist, communist, progressist etc i.e.= today's fascists, who knows shit about whatever he is talking about. LOL Slavery? LOL! Nazis? Many made money with the nazis during that time. FIFA and Nestle are two international organisations, and like many in Switzerland, have not much to do with Switzerland ie the country. Please educate yourself and learn how to make the difference between a country, its citizens and international organisations or headquarters based in a particular country = The city of Bruxelles is not the EU. FIFA is highly corrupt as so many other sports. The SVP party is an ultra liberal party, they are not socialists (like Hitler or the fascists of last century). The SVP party is pro direct democracy as opposed to the centralisation of power true marxist, socialist, communist dictators crave. SVP = Liberty. Oh and by the way, immigration is human trade. So you defend immigration, you support slavery. Today the reds are the problem like they have always been, they are the true fascists, the international socialists are the new nazis. And clearly .... you are one of their useful idiots!!!! Now watch all the left ideologies being kicked out of the way .... Good luck!!
I think the level of political participation and education is exceptionally high in Switzerland. And that is related to a political culture that may change as part of the EU. It is something worth saving. I would not expect a significant change there if the Swiss would join the EU. But then, Switzerland is independent by nature - it would be strange if it would be "part" of anything.
Probably not, but that participation would become as issue as - to roughly say it - If referendum decides something Government is obligated to implement it - including withdrawal from international treaty... The power of citizen vote trumps everything else. EU legal system does not accept that.
Switzerland is having an important vote at the end of September on the freedom of movement. If the initiative is accepted then all other agreements with the EU fall through!
and if all other agreements fall through, then the Swiss (and I'm one too, French-Swiss) will have to realize how much of their economy depended on those... kinda remind me of something on the other side of a Channel... but at least in Switzerland, many peoples are aware of that and are warning against it... will see what the votation result in...
I agree. But many Adults here in Switzerland wish to join the EU. Everytime i hear someone say "we should join the EU" im shockd. Do theese people not see whats wrong with the EU system?.
Mario G90 I know right, I mean I can see why it’s difficult for Switzerland to ignore it as it’s literally surrounded by the EU, but the Swiss have one of the most prosperous nations in the world a bit like Norway in a way, because they have more control. The systems in side the will only hurt Switzerland because if you’re rich and not Germany you get the shit that the UK had.
Perfect timing, since we'll have a vote in September on the leave from the freedom of movement and, by proxy, the Bilaterals I. I definitely don't want this to be accepted but I understand the issues the initiative committee has. On one side, I'd love if Switzerland could join the EU for all the benefits it could have, but on the other side, it would undermine our principals of having a say in the matter. The EU is not made for direct democracy and if the Swiss had to implement laws that someone else has "forced" on them without the general public being able to oppose it by calling an initiative, it would screw up the core of what, in my mind, makes Switzerland special and great to live in. I want to be asked if our military should get the money for new air fighters, I want to be asked if the laws for hunting wolves should be changed, I want to be asked if men should get state-mandated parental leave. I wouldn't have this option in an EU country like Germany because at best they'd have to listen to what I / a collective has to say, but they are under no obligation to do anything.
@@stef1896 The EU is not a very democratic construct to begin with. The whole construct is as indirect as a thing that calls itself democratic can be. I'm not against the EU - but I can understand why the Swiss won't join. Their system is completely contrary. For all the good and bad that comes with that - it just doesn't match.
@@Maeniel83 You just said a well known, generic cliché, but you are not saying which rules would make Swiss less democratic. EU doesn't forbid referendums, nor direct democracy. Political system is exclusively on members itself. EU didn't even interfere in UK's electoral system based on bizarre First-past-the-post system. Personally, I don't think any country should be a member without a proportional representation, but EU itself doesn't object even to the First-past-the-post.
@@stef1896 It's not about how we elect our representatives or conduct politics in Switzerland. It's about the fact that the public can potentially veto every law in Switzerland, this is not provided in the EU. We would have to adhere to laws that we are not able to stop. Plus the fact that the decision making process in the EU is very indirect, meaning a lot of important decisions are taken/shaped by representatives of the executive (conferences of prime ministers or EU counsel) and not by directly elected officials (the EU parliament) or the electorate. This is a very big difference in philosophy the Swiss aren't willing to change on.
I’ve been on a holiday this year at the Swiss part of the Bodensee. Can someone explain why it’s so much more expensive than Austria and Germany, only a few kilometers away. Sometimes twice as expensive.
Some things are really artificial my my book, like the difference for cosmetics, costing about 3x more in Switzerland than in Germany. It probably comes down to higher income and lower taxes.
Whe it comes to higher costs for goods, possible reasons are that we still have border customs and quotas. And also that the swiss currency is gone up in value. It’s expensive to buy francs for about everybody. For services and anything that contains “swiss labor” the reason is that Swiss wages are high and our infrastructure is valuable.
Switzerland is in a different custom’s zone, you can’t freely import and export from neighbouring countries as you like. Since it is a smaller market this means higher prices. Britain will soon be in a similar situation though less pronounced since it has a lower standard of living.
- People make more money. Someone in a shop or restaurant needs a higher wage and therefore prices are higher. The wage of a simple workers is way higher in Switzerland than Germany. - Animal welfare: When you want to buy products from animals, like dairy, you pay more because Switzerland has higher animal welfare standards. The standards in the EU are very bad, they are also bad in Switzerland but way less. - There are things that are cheaper. I pay less for electronics than i would in Germany.
At this point, Switzerland is really only independent of the EU in name only - with the sole purpose of placating the very independent-minded Swiss, as you can see in a plethora of election adverts there. The fact of the matter is that Switzerland does pay a lot of money to the EU, has to ratify all EU rules to not drop out of the single market and has - to my knowledge - already tied the Swiss Franc directly to the Euro. If the swiss eventually decide to vote on ratifying all EU laws and regulations automatically, that really is the point where they should think about full membership.
CHF was tied to the EUR for a while but is not now. It is a serious problem as CHF is a safe haven currency and when too many people buy it, it becomes too expensive for the economy. It's value does not reflect the economic worth of the country anymore. So even in the 1970's (as far as I remember) you can have negative interest rates in CHF to discourage people buying it.
"The fact of the matter is that Switzerland does pay a lot of money to the EU, has to ratify all EU rules to not drop out of the single market and has" Switzerland does not pay into the EU. It pays a contribution to the new eu member states of the eastern enlargement of 1.3 billion over 10 years for access to the internal market and for projects that we can determine yourself. When this decision was made at the time, it was called blackmail by the EU in the Swiss political landscape. and we also do not automatically adopt EU laws. They are always discussed first and if they do not conflict with Swiss law, then the EU rules are adopted where it makes sense to secure trade. e.g. EU weapons law first had to survive a vote, or internet law (article 14.16) was not adopted
@@p.c.k.m.h690 It should be noted that all EU members have to do whatever their democratic process demands to enact new EU laws. So for the UK that meant a vote in Parliament.
@@stephenconway2468 yes That is true, but if an EU country rejects a legal reform, the EU has the right to initiate "compensatory measures". so punish them for it. or you will vote until the result suits your interests. (ireland)
@@p.c.k.m.h690 To be fair, it never or very rarely gets to that stage. Few EU laws are put forward that don't have full agreement at the European Council level. If a country for national politics reasons needs to make some noise, then there is often space to do that. Likewise, at the European Parliament level, soundings are taken and committees are checked beforehand. The EU Commission is charged with checking that it does not contradict treaties and EU law. Then parties like the Swiss ambassador also have informal input should an issue be tricky to sell back home. It can happen, it has happened.... but it is rare. Of all the UK's laws only about 0.03% were actually voted against at the council level. This was mainly for local politics. That does not include the number of times when British politicians in the European Parliament still supported the law.
Not sure how well or how long a nation like Switserland can truly remain outside of the EU, outside they'd have far less capability to actually go against what the EU wants. Inside it however they could block about every single point, putting them in a stronger position. Curious how this will enfold but an overly aggressive push from the EU to deepen the ties seems like a bad idea.
The problem is that by joining the EU swiss representatives would gain a lot of power, while the direct democracy would become even more reactive. So yeah swiss representatives would gain tons and tons of power, while the public would lose it
@@toffeeFairy Why would the public loose? Every country has to approve almost every deal the EU makes, so just make it that every approval has to be done by referendum, how would the public loose power in that sense?
@@tobiasL1991 Well if they EU would infact play along with that, which would take at least an additional 6 months, direct democracy is slow. Also there're several EU laws, that conflict with current swiss laws or make them null if applied, which would rule those things out of control of the direct system. I have to state to that switzerland is as close to the EUas possible, without being in it.
given Switzerland don't spit on particular part of the agreements (Schengen), there will be no change neither for integration nor for "independence"... but, the EU already warned that being part of Schengen was linked to all the other agreements and, Switzerland has a lot to lose if they're not part of those anymore... but then, it's the citizen that will decide and for once, I will surely cast my ballot, it's way too important...
Next do a video about Mario Draghi. What has he done so far to energize Italy's economy? Explain in detail how he used Golden Rule to prevent Chinese takeover of Milan based semiconductor company. Also, what can Italians and EU expect from a Draghi premiership. Tq.
Vote yes September to stop this madness. Switzerland has been strong because was the country deciding what was necessary for peapole not what Brussels needs. Last chance to save what left of Switzerland!
When a country doesn't want to be a member that wish should be respected of course,.. and if it wants to have some other kind of relationship then the agreement should reflect that wish as well as avoid a free riders position. So,.. this Brexiteer's idea of keeping Polish carpenters out while letting UK-bankers freely roam through Europe.. How about "No, thanks"
Brexiteers are the biggest hypocrites going. They whinge about the EU being undemocratic but support blocking a vote to allow Scotland to leave the UK.
@@shadowdugify Brexit changes the situation significantly. Most Scots voted to stay with the understanding that they would remain in the EU. A referendum now would take place in a much different context than before.
The EU is not Europe. Switzerland has much more in common with some countries like austria or germany than the EU has. EU is a not working community that is much enfrauded. A lot of countries would prefer to exit if this could be done in a sense manner (not like brexit). So the best would be that countries like austria and germany would exit EU and become a new cantons of switzerland. That would help all.
EU-ASEAN negotiation. What is it like for two supranational institutions to negotiate, give that both have very different degrees of member state integration?
Inflation is low, almost no unemployment, almost no homeless.. maybe not being part of the EU isn't that bad for us. Our political system just doesn't fit in to the EU.
Switzerland will not join the EU and is in fact moving away from the EU requirements to control areas of Swiss law. They do not want to be under any control of the EU.
You could also add that you can withdraw euro banknotes in any ATM in Switzerland and pay anywhere using euros. Switzerland would have no problem adapting to the European political system since the Helvetic Confederation is already an extremely complicated and bureaucratic organization. 🤣
Honestly I don't know why people think that switzerland has a complicated system. As a swiss I think it's pretty straight forward. It is very different from other countries which don't have direct democracy maybe that's why people think it's complicated because they can't imagen such a system. I don't think switzerland is bureaucratic, at least not more then the neighbouring countries. The Federal Goverment is actually really small compared to countries like france, and that's by design because the system is designed in a decentralized way. According to the World Economic Forum switzerland is #9 in the world in terms of goverment efficiency. I don't think we can adapt to the European political system since it would limit our right in certain ways how we handle direct demoracies. The result of that would be that the swiss would probably leave the moment the EU would deny them the right to vote about something. The Europeans have a history of monarchies, fascism , and communism. Now they have a stable representive democracy. They never had or allowed a direct democratic system and don't understand why it is important to us to vote about thing and that power has to be implemented from the bottom up and not from the politicians down.
How about the EU becoming more swiss in terms of democracy, research, fiscal responsability and business friendliness? It could become the Switzerland of the XXI century world. Maybe then I'd make sense for the swiss to join, for now their interesting and working political system (that is a jewel in this shit world) could lose many of its virtues. The eu as the world's swirzerland, a man can dream!
Fully agree there, More Democratic reforms need to be done on the EU, I still do belive in the EU and its ideas, Politcs and the power it brings to those in the EU but there is flaws in the EU that do need to be reformed, Mostly when it comes to Electing Officals.
EU member states have a few things they could learn from SW so, although I would love to see SW integrated in the EU, maybe the term of that integration should lean a bit more towards EU adopting SW laws, in some cases.
weirdly people think that things functioning within tiny populations ... switzerland has less people than paris ... would function on continents **rolleyes**
what the flying fuck ... I take your point, however you must remember two things: one is that technology makes some things possible, at a large scale, in 2020 that were not even conceivable when our political systems were designed. Second, a lot of the good things I see in SW stem from education and upbringing and that is one of the major faults in many EU countries, my own included, and it is something where population size is irrelevant
@@CarlosKTCosta so long the EU follows the illegitimate Forms of democracy, in some cases not even the hollow forms , so long there is no point for us Swiss to further integrate .
politicians, not all, but the profession as a whole are professional deal-makers and professional liars. their pockets and minds of those are filled by the powerful behind them, whoever that is in your culture. you can be under the, openly disputed or not, impression to be in a democracy and still have no power. just because "the politicians" are rolling off decisions like: • should we build a mosque here OR • should this trash yard be build next to the kindergarden onto the public does not mean there is any major difference in the distribution of power. the swiss system is nothing I envy. the swiss culture is not a role model all parents of europe would want to raise their kids after.
Well, were going to vote on a so called "begrenzungs Initiative" which, if passed, will pretty much undermine the billaterale 1 and most likely lead to further collapse of relations with the eu. Luckily it seems that the idea is pretty unpopular and wont pass, and i hope it doesnt
Yeah, the Bilaterale are all way too popular and we overwhelmingly supported them so far. I see no way the Kündigungsinitiative would actually pass. It's just our equivalent to the US Republican Party trying to score political points in an attempt to cater to the xenophobic part of their basis.
I can't see us joining the EU by principle of how we deal with things we do or don't want. If something is amiss, then we the actual fuckin' people can vote for change _and_ more importantly get it _done_ which is in stark contrast to how things would run if we were part of the EU and giving up such power isn't exactly something people are keen on loosing when a lot of things are amiss across the border(s). Maybe if the EU changes how they operate we might reconsider but in the current state I highly doubt it 🧐
It’s a really interesting perspective. The EU walks a delicate line of trying to respect countries sovereignty vs being more democratic. The power direct democracy injected into the EU, along with the power that entails, the less sovereignty a nation holds and vice versa. Some countries are more kean for one way or the other and, as with a lot of things humans do, is a compromise which takes on the worst bits of both worlds.
I love how you guys handle democracy! I'm from South Tyrol and it would be so great if we could become a part of Switzerland even though I know that's nearly impossible
Mountain people, be they Swizz or Norwegian or on another continent entirely has *never* been keen on external control in local matters. And trying to "tighten the thumbscrews" is a bad idea. Perhaps Norway should "tighten the thumbscrews" and add further taxes on gas companies selling natural gas to the EU. Actual export taxes is probably covered by the EEA agreements, but we're free to set whatever tax levels on *total* income that we please. And we wish to transition towards a greener future anyway. The EEA members outside the EU does *not* want to join, don't try to force us.
Because, as we all know: A) the Brexit negotiations and subsequent FTAs that were organised by Westminster were a roaring success and are in stark contrast to how things run in the EU B) the people voted concisely to leave the EU in the strictest form possible and no non-democratic influences were at play, unlike, say the Treaty of Lisbon which was reshaped to fit the Irish electorate's wishes C) countries in the EU cannot request to leave unlike in the UK where countries are free to leave without permission from a party voted in largely by an entirely differently country D) The Upper House of the UK is entirely appointed by elected officials and in no way do the clergy nor the landed gentry have any tangible influence in UK political discourse unlike the European Commission The UK is indeed a beacon of democracy in a heavily autocratic Europe. I look forward to how Westminster will treat us in the periphery of the country with respect in the future, as they have always done in the past, and I cannot wait to appreciate the continued closeness of our fair "United" Kingdom.
So we can say no and say it just this time, but everyone knows that nowadays Swiss people would vote in a majority no to enter the EU, too much hassle when we have bilaterals
Well look at the numbers. Switzerland is better off without the EU. It has lower unemployment, a higher GDP and ranks higher in satisfaction than EU countries surrounding it.
@ashley that is true. Germany is one of the richest nations on earth still it's not really comparable. But based on my work experience with German business partners and co-workers it's not because of the people but rather their bad luck in history and stupid politicians burning money by ordering from companies who offer them the best paid girls and champagne rather than the most cost-effective solution to the actual task at hand.
@@dohlecarnett1866 Because I actually do live there. And I've crossed the border to Germany at least a hundred times. I guess you have never lived anywhere close to Switzerland, right? I mean go to Waldshut, that is just after the border in Germany and tell me which other town the same size has so many stores that are just full and running that well. They're almost exclusively operating for the Swiss for sure most would go out of business without. It's just an example which shows that there is a huge difference in spending power and economic performance. That is not to say that the EU isn't helping to make Switzerland that rich, they are.
@@gentuxable My point was that you, similiar to Brexiteers, make it out to be that economies in the 21st century are NOT intertwined which each other and can easily untangle their relationships and keep going on as everything is normal. Switzerland has made a lot of his wealth specifically because of that constellation. Imagine Switzland had no deals with the EU at all, do you really think it would be where it is now? So to say it would be better off without the EU is simply nonsense. Wait till January. If you are lucky, you'll have a superb proof for that.
@@dohlecarnett1866 Ok point taken but I when I said "without the EU" I assumed that everybody understands it like "without being part of the EU" this would have been more correct. And I agree that "without any contract with the EU" is going to be a very different story as you may have seen in my reply. But being actual EU member would also be a bad outcome because Switzerland has many advantages in being disconnected. That's how I meant it.
Such a informative video. I have studied this and you really highlighted the important parts in a very balanced way. I would love to see a video about Iceland's trade deal relation with EU.
@@p.c.k.m.h690 I did a paper on this when I was in the university several years ago. I think he concluded this well not been looking into the current. So what are your opinion about the current negotiations?
@@larstenfaelt1859 in short, for me the EU is not a democratic entity. and the framework agreement must be rejected. It's tough because the CH is currently closely linked to the EU. but the contract is hard to beat when it comes to disrespect. The EU would like us to automatically adopt EU laws, and would like the ECJ to be the last instance in the event of a dispute. what we don't want to accept, obviously. then they want to soften our employee protection, because we still have the highest average wages in europe and our unions are going crazy. so in summary, not much
@@p.c.k.m.h690 Thanks for the update. I saw that on the video and I have heard a little about it. EU is a democratic organisation for its members but it's not this direct democratic way that you do it, it's a representative democracy. I have been quite a lot in Switzerland and has lots of friends there. Yes, I know about your higher wages and long traditions for workers right. I'm from Sweden and have a similar situation but as we are members we are part of the process defining this. So I see the problem when you are a non member but still want access to the single market. I have been working for years in the UK and seen the total crash between the old imperial mindset that some have and that the reality is different. The Tories have built up a rhetoric from thatchers time that Brussels dictates everything. In reality it's presently mainly related to the common market (where workers rights are included) and environment. They have huge problems when they really don't know what standards they want...only that they don't want them set by Brussel. So they will have hard time to trade if they don't get their act together. I think it's the same with CH that you need to know exactly what you want but also see how this fits into the bigger picture. Thanks again for enlighten me and I will follow this.
switzerland was able to secure a lot of benefits that would usually require joining the EU, a big reason for it is their pure wealth, it would simply be a bad deal for EU to refuse to such a strong economy. honestly, good for them
@ML8593wy yes, we are United as Europeans so we can face the other great power's in this world, and I'm proud of it. But nevertheless every EU country has different benefits, contributions, etc, etc etc
another referendum on the free movement of people could put the bilateral agreements at risk as if one of a set is broken then the whole packet is torn up.
Would you be able to produce a video on a future trade agreement between the UK and the EU. Could it cover the benefits of a trade agreement against the benefits of a “No deal Brexit”? I am asking on behave of a Mr B Johnson, Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA
Britain’s position in the EU is just as unique: today Britain opts out from more than 1,200 EU laws and regulations and yet keeps complaining about lack of independence from the EU. Another president like Trump in the US and Switzerland won’t need to worry about joining the EU because there will be no EU.
"There will be no EU"... HA... HA... HA... The EU is now stronger than ever after brexit, while the UK has problems filling supermarket shelves and gas stations. It is crisis after crisis in the UK, just 9 months after leaving the EU. I think it is clear that the UK greatly underestimated how dependent they actually were on the EU.
I'm EU citizen, pro-EU and live in Switzerland. Switzerland should not join the EU. Most importantly, they don't want to. Switzerland will turn to shit when they happens for a variety it reasons already mentioned in the video. Mostly importantly, the Swiss know this and reject losing their independence.
You are contradicting yourself...you say you're pro-EU and then you equate being in EU to being a slave to Brussels ("losing their independence").... so you are basically pro-Slavery..
@@ameyas7726 it's not contradiction. EU is great but it has its negative sides too, like the Swiss. Switzerland already benefits from the positive sides (trade), joining will just mean adding the negatives rather than having extra positives. Fuck off with this "slave to Brussels" shit. EU saved this continent from wars to prosperity. If you disagree, ok but go spill your brexiteer garbage in someone else's comment. I'm a pro EU but some things are better left as they are..instead forcing to get the Swiss to join.
its really weird how all these referendums and even national elections are often so close. always like 48/52. 49/51. 48.5/51.5 etc. what does that say about our societies?
The Swiss can do what their population wants. If they don't want it they don't want it. It's a sovereign nation and their direct Democracy is a good thing. Wouldn't complain if they decided to join though.
9:10 - biggest BS I've heard in a while! The Swiss, openly trying to be racist, fail to acknowledge that there is a large portion of their demographic structure now, which wasn't born in the country. There was, is and always will be an influx of foreign nationals and it is not hard to see why. As working in a Swiss company from abroad, I can tell you that the ethnic Swiss are decreasing, as they admit it, but the "Swissness" of the newcomers is the same! This is what matters - not the complexion of your skin, your dialect or background, but what you believe and work for! In the end of the day, it is the same country, obeying the same laws of democracy. Side note, it is funny to see a Swiss from Asian origin complaining about foreigners coming to Switzerland. The irony is fucking there :D
I'm not onboard with all this "X should be more Y and vice versa" you see in these comments. I want a strong military and economic union that doesn't compromise on fundamental principles of modern democracies like separation of powers. I don't want my country, Sweden, to be more European, French, Italian, or Bulgarian. And I don't want them to be more Swedish or anything else. I'm genuinely scared that they're losing their character in the future. This is a more general problem than an EU problem. I don't want Sweden to become more North American as I've seen it become in some ways. But when you guys say stuff like this I'm concerned that you think that's a measure of success in the EU. It's not. And on all these more fine grained issues than trade, defence and macroeconomics I question the validity of having a system like the US where their supreme court and federal is very far reaching. Edit: Also I think you're losing sight of what you mean here. Because X becoming more like Y doesn't mean you take everything good and X and everything good in Y and combine them. It's never going to work like that. It's ignoring all the context that motivates why parts of X/Y is good and bad and just assume the most ideal combination will happen. Don't make empty statements of unity, make real uniting claims and see who agrees.
Well following the lead of the stronger isn't that normal? In Kalmar Union your lords liked a danish queen, still sweden kept being swedish in its heart When danish king Christian IV ruled you got scania (skåne), they still are scanians Under Louis XIV the swedish got a lot of inspiration, like every other western european country under Napoleon you got a new royal house, still swedes are swedish After WW2 the strong power is the USA, so a lot of things got americanized, like soft drinks (coca cola etc), fast food(MacDonalds etc), Jeans in 1950s and onwards immigrants came and so did rice, pizza, kebab etc So yes sweden year 1020, 1520 and 2020 are very different societies. Nothing is stable, still swedish people are swedish people with their culture. In 2520 even if there is no sweden as country I still think there will be swedes being swedes. Just in another form then what we know today
@@Dovndyr13 You are right. But people have a memory span of a generation. That's around 25 years. And what people also do is relativating the patriotism of their "enemies" while being patriotic themselves. Obviously it is not as obvious but it still is here. The same people that say: "What is swedish" also defend globalism and are highly offended at everything negative about Karl Marx. My thoughts on this topic can be summarized in three points. - Either care about identity or don't, but don't say one form of patriotism is meaningless while holding to pretty much the same patriotism. And don't say, white countries have no culture but black do. I call that hypocrite. - Questioning people on their patriotism is a pretty strong weapon against western countries. There are people fully aware of that and use it especially because of that. Not because they actually believe what they are saying. - I prefer peaceful and not oppressing countries. And a flood of foreign people with a culture conflict will definitely cause unrest. And replacing a population is just another form of imperialism. Which I don't like. Since I don't know who you are, this comment is not meant as an attack on you. More an argument against the opinion of certain people I came across. You might hold completely different views.
@@Dovndyr13 I think this is different. Cultural exchanges are much more rapid. The world is smaller in a lot of ways. If I was a farmer in Sweden in the 1600s there's little chance that any action from France would change me culturally. Exception being an invasion and some sort of forced cultural conversion. It doesn't happen in my lifetime. And sure you'll see it happen on longer timescales. But that's inherently different to what I'm thinking of. We all have a lot of homogeneity now. That's the problem. Not the gradual change in customs on a local level. That's the main thing I think of preserving. But even the more practical matters like government structure shouldn't be motivated by convergence as a goal. It's extremely clear for me right now with the pandemic. The fact that there's countries where politicians are the ones that people look to when dealing with this pandemic scares me. I'm much happier to leave recommendations with the public health agency without any direct political involvement. Because they know what to do and what's proven to have good effect. They also don't just look to the virus like a politician seeking reelection might. Other countries also seem to coarse for me, but maybe that's because I look at global news and nobody talks about what a powers an individual US county has in dealing with the pandemic. Here our municipal governments have most of that power. That's not to say our system is the best or that it's something others should adopt. Other countries have different circumstances and people rarely account for that. Like when Americans look to Europe as a model for a health system and then places like New York that'd be all over that in a popular vote oppose things like sugar tax. They don't get it, these are hard problems.
Thanks you for this video. But I'm still confused. How can Switzerland regulate the goods coming in and out of it's borders, but not people? Are there different border checkpoints for people and cargo trucks? Are there different checkpoints for EU & Swiss citizens and Non-EU citizens? Maybe I'm limited by my American perspective, but I don't see how Switzerland can allow the free movement of people, but not goods and services since coming from the EU. How does Switzerland prevent the goods that the EU imports from other countries entering Switzerland without any tariffs. What prevents Chinese, American, and Japanese exports from avoid Swiss customs duties if they can easily sneak into Switzerland from Germany or Italy? What regulations prevent that from happening. This video has not satisfied my confusion! I'm sorry if I should, but I truly don't understand it.
TLDR, can you please answer this question. I'm sorry for being annoying, but I can't wrap my head around it. My Comparative Euro professor only talked about bonafide EU countries and former Soviet Republics
There's an electronic system in place that registers goods before leaving/entering Switzerland. There are however random checks at the border. As for free movement of people, it's because of the Schengen agreement allowing residents in border areas freedom to cross borders away from fixed checkpoints, and the harmonisation of visa policies. For example some workers/scientists at CERN live in France and they cross to Switzerland daily to attend work.
@Reilly Grant Hello, my knowledge is limited, but I'm swiss, so maybe I can help... Free movement of people and policing the border for cargo/duties are two distinct processes. Free movement pertains to work and residency. It's handled by swiss residents' registration office. People were able to cross the border to Switzerland even before "Free Movement", as tourists, for shopping, transfer, work etc. Some bordercrossings were unchecked, but most were monitored by police and we had to show ID. Nowadays with "Free Movement" it is much easier to obtain work and residence for EU-citizens. Less requirements for permits, less regulations etc. Now when it comes to policing the border, not much has changed. Checking peoples passports is less frequent. Checking for contraband in private cars also is less frequent and often takes place inland, on random streets. At the border there are special lanes for trucks and also for private cars who wish to import goods. There are duties to be paid and paperwork to be filled. Goods imported into Switzerland, as well all those in transit, must be declared to the Federal Customs Administration. Certain goods are subject to import restrictions. Importers need to show certificates of origin, analysis certificates, cargo manifests and whatnot... Customs is not overly concerned with people crossing the border. Swiss administration (residents' registration office, and a myriad of other services) are very efficient, and would be exceedingly difficult to live or work without permit in Switzerland.
Thank you for your work to bring the relations between Switzerland and the EU closer to non-Swiss citizens (even if there were small mistakes, e.g. 4:10 Switzerland does not have a president, it could be that René Felber was chairman of the federal council) would have liked to hear more about the negotiations of the framework agreement from the point of view of a "neutral" observer. because these negotiations are currently ongoing and are probably the most important political decision our country has made in a long time.
It would be so good to see Switzerland joining the EU, as well as other countries that are not part of it yet, such as Norway. We should always remember to stay proud of our nations and our culture, but only united can Europe stand strong against US and China. Alone, none of us are competitive and powerful enough. I think all European countries should join, and then work together to make the EU better, instead of staying out of it.
@@andrasadam8256 a lot of people think the swiss would define themselves through their neutrality. but this is wrong. we define ourselves through direct democracy (yes, yes half ..) and federalism. and the eu is exactly the opposite. and no swiss would give up just a little of it for the hope that it would come back in some form! e.g. if switzerland would vote on the DD, it would be adopted with over 90% of the votes. that would be the first vote with a result over 90% without cheating worldwide.
Not to do with the EU or trade deals but the East African Federation would be a really interesting topic to cover. Not many times countries think about uniting.
I won't comment on if the Swiss should get more involved with EU, that's for them. I'm not anti EU, i voted to stay, though now it just needs to be wrapped up even if that means leaving with no agreement. What I do have a really big issue with is a population voting against something and then Swiss/EU leaders do it anyway just calling it something else. It makes a mockary of democracy, even if you don't agree with it you have to respect it, it is the 1 non negotiable part of western government. EU shouldn't bully a population into what they want, tho apparently once in you can behave in the worst way and no repercussions. I am glad this channel exists as it seems to try to be balanced, very little of that on int'l news with CNN etc becoming a joke in recent years
Those agreements between Switzerland and EU were approved by the swiss population in multiple referendums. The swiss I talked with about EU/Swiss integration, aren't very keen to join EU (even that some think it will come to a point that will be inevitable), but they appreciate very much the current agreements and don't want to lose the advantages they give them.
What will they do when they runout of good chocolate? You can’t live without good chocolate, can you? fun on the side I hope the Eu sees that they needs us just as we do need them and that they accept that we do not want to accept everything by kissing hand
Better for the EU to join Switzerland as about 500 new cantons. Then you get the best of all worlds.
Swiss superpower
Yes to this
an interesting idea, i see a lot of opportunity in that
Politicians are pathological liars, they tell you what's necessary to get elected and do what suits them best when they are elected.
So a system like Switzerland's that keeps them constantly in check, where every single decision they make, can be overturned by the people, would constitute a massive increase of power of the PEOPLE within the EU.
This!
EU should ask for Swiss membership!
Or at least adopt the swiss political model.
Did you know that the Swiss has no head of state? It's brilliant.
I would love to see you cover the relationship between Iceland and the EU
It's cold!!
I bet the obsticle on why they won't join has to do with fishing rights
@@jokuvaan5175 It actually had to do with the Incelandic banking system which collapsed in 2009 and took out a lot of investments from EU member states. EU member states asked for reparations which Iceland refused. Then countries like the UK and Netherlands started vetoing Iceland so that they couldn't join the union.
To this day Iceland still hasn't paid these financial institutions back even though Iceland had an agreement to compensate a certain % of losses in case of a bank run.
I live in Norway!!
@@joey199412 Oh right. I forgot that happened
IF A DEAL MEANS CHEAPER SWISS CHOCOLATE, I THINK ITS FOR THE GREATER GOOD
Don’t agree! Greetings from Belgium.
Much of the popular Swiss chocolate is produced in german locations (since it is cheaper) ;).
It isn’t pricier because it is produced there - it is pricier because there is „Swiss“ printed on the packaging.
And cheese :P
@@MetallicReg Well but you can't put the Swiss on it if it wasn't made (very complicated and food specific) in CH.
@@MetallicReg Indeed. Germany is used as a cheap labour country for many swiss products and services.
Switzerland always was a fiercely independent country.
And far more honest than the UK.
As an Austrian, I see the Swiss as our slighty quirky but very smart and hardworking neighbours who seem to know exactly what they want. If they want to join, awesome, if they don't, wonderful. I don't think the Swiss would overly benefit from joining at this point, other than maybe some streamlining of processes. I highly doubt that they would every completely break with the EU through, considering how many people have to cross the Austria/Switzerland border alone on a daily basis. Being landlocked usually means you can't quite do it all alone.
Which made it extremely prosperous.
Swiss should keep up the good fight.
@@KathyClysm I wouldnt be too sure about that. If the EU doesnt want to have us as an independent ally ( not on the military side ) wich lifes to its own rules ( if needed ) then im pretty sure the swiss would go to the last. If we would have to accept EU laws and getting sanctions for not doing so we would probably go as far as loosing our belateral agreements just to have our own rules and laws. We love europe and know its very important for us but nothing is more important for a swiss then hes freedome. I bet we would go the hard way and try to make new deals ( or loose all ) with each state or someone else just to have our own rules and laws ( if needed. most stuff of the eu we accept without problems but we want to be able to say NO and if the EU wants to take that away from us then we are gone :P )
From Switzerland: Independence and neutrality are actually right wing talking points. They mean: no immigrants, no solidarity with the world. The rest knows it's only a myth. 60% of our country is ice and rocks... we could not even feed ourselves. And we wouldn't have this standard of living if we didn't help exploit other countries. Cocoa doesn't grow in our climate and imagine how much chocolate would cost if we paid fair prices to cocoa farmers...m
And there are the criminal banks. But they are not what makes us rich. Private banks are international institutions who pay not their fair share of taxes. Banks do not make a country rich. They make rich people richer.
The development of this relationship over these many years shows one thing very clearly. It takes a lot of effort and time to come up with suitable solutions for a balanced relationship. And a direct democracy can only work with an educated population, that is willing to take political matters seriously.
Couldn't agree more. And I really hope that people are aware of what's at stake when they're going to vote this month
Ah yes, but what about their fishing rights
Thats funny because they're completely land locked
@@dazza2350 well they have a river that goes into the ocean
west europe is already weak at their own point it would be better if switzerland joins EU and NATO and also for the austria to join NATO also because western european is not a strong force enough when russia which is also a european power is already against them and europe has been always divided
Europe being one country including all former eastern bloc states especially russia would make them a lot powerful to counter china
@@MTC008 Never ever will Switzerland join the Eu mate
@@NICOLAS-ol9fq maybe because switzerland is afraid to get invaded or to have wars that will lead to the occupation of their country OR swiss have a very weak army and afraid to join any organization that involve military and economy will lead them to dangers of war
Please make a video about the relationship between the EU and North African countries (the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership). 🌍
Even a video on the relationship between the European Union and the African Union could be interesting
Switzerland's current negotiations for a framework with the EU are also on hold due to the BREXIT negotiations. Switzerland has made many many concessions to the EU for access to their markets, freedom of travel etc... The UK is negotiating for the same rights, but without the concessions. If the EU folds in to the UK, then obviously Switzerland will argue their case based on that outcome.
Well. no folding happened, so things can go smoothly.
3:54 If you are swiss and cant decide between german or french version of "Yes" and "No" so you just pick the best one from each language...
Aproval in the french speaking cantons was very high, but most german speaking cantons and ticino were aginst joinging the EEA.
@@Reluk5 as someone from ticino i say drop the bilaterals, schengen and the whole thing, im only in favour of the european court of human rights.
@@idkimlikereallybored9533 As someone from a Zürich rural area i agree with you agree and while we're at it we can sell of the French speaking part to the EU as they want to be rather in the EU than in Switzerland. And let's also get rid of the european court of human rights, the concept i guess but in practice it's being used as political tool to prevent deportation and stuff.
If you can’t choose, take the Italian version
@@marcmarc8524 the italian version is always NO to anything EU related 🤣
I've both Eu and Swiss citizenships and would: 1. Like to see the EU become more Swiss and: 2. I'd like to see the Swiss become more European. Does it make sense?
Sure. Both have their advantages. Most of all, however, I'd like the EU to become more Scandinavian.
Yes - more direct democracy in the EU and a higher sense of an European identity in the Swiss. Actually makes a ton of sense :)
I'm actually not that keen on direct democracy as it has a bit of a flaw in it. In many situations where you need laws, not that many are interested as it gets more and more smaller bits and pieces. In large matters people tend to entrench into their views that reality doesn't need to have a say in the matter. Also there are people who are interested mainly in subject X and would get into anything relevant to X while most would just ignore it meaning that the group has more say in X than it normally would. Representations point is that it is their job (and thus have more time) to get into the subjects more to have sensible view of it. Of course they being people too are just as easily swayed into those trenches so ... It is a complicated matter and it's not like politicians make it any easier either.
@@henafoo 100% agreed! People romanticize direct democracy and don't want to see potential flaws.👍
How would EU become more Swiss? Would it be the same thing as being more like the "frugal four" (Austria, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden)?
2:14 The Swiss flag is square. They always notice when it's made a rectangle like other flags. Your channel is amazing!
There actually is a Norm how the Swiss Flag has to be proportioned in the normal Rectangular Format of most other Flags. Square Flags aren't allowed sometimes; e.g. do the Swiss Ships fly that rectangular Flags at Sea (Inland Shipping on the Lakes, Rivers and Canals allows square Flags)
It would be interesting to know if there is an international standard for flag size ratios, because I’d assume that even countries with what we might call rectangle flags, probably don’t all have the same width to heigh ratio.
In this case I suspect it was a design choice so every flag looked the same shape, to go along with the more minimalist look of TLDR’s content.
@@AaronMcHale yes you are correct. flags are standardised for certain events. The Olympics use 3:5 and the UN and EU use 2:3. 2:3 is the most common format (like France and Italy) but some are 3:5 (Germany and Trinidad) and 1:2 (UK and many former USSR states). Some countries like the US or Denmark have very odd proportions. Most flags you buy on the consumer market are 3:5, usually 3' x 5' in North America.
The big problem (that apparently is not really well understood in Brussels) is that direct democracy is not only a political system for us. It is in fact a core principle of our identity and of what it means to be Swiss. If the idea of the EU is basically to have us cancel direct democracy I have bad news for them.
@Taiwanlight It would not be a problem if the EU is democracy.
@Taiwanlight There is no vote for individual laws. This is what democracy is: The population has the last word.
Here we can make a initiative or a referendum (in case a new law is proposed which we do not like) and after that people vote to accept a new law or not.
Selecting a group, that selects some people, that then select some other people that make new laws, which you have no control over, is not really a democracy if you ask me.
This is not bad news for us. We don't care if you want to join the EU. If you want to join, then you are welcome, otherwise stay out. It is your choice. We sell you more than you sell us, so we are earning money out of the current trade situation. This is fine. Just keep it as it is. Nobody forces you to join, and "Brussels" has no say in this. If you want to join the EU, you first need the permission of your own people via a referendum, and then you need the permission of every single EU member state. If any one of them refuses, you stay out. "Brussels" has no say in this. This principle is clearly not really well understood by you. This is a big problem with many people around Europe, who think they are being ruled by "the EU". This is nonsense, as "the EU" cannot make any decisions. All decisions are made by the (democratically elected) EU parliament and the 27 individual governments, who make up the Council. That's it. Without the support of Council and parliament, NOTHING CHANGES. How you organise your own country, with whatever democratic system, is up to you. The EU does not force any member to change its political system and way of making decisions nationally.
id like to see a video on the EU-TURKEY relations and agreements as well as the proposed sanctions by greece and cyprus...
I'm with you on that one, the EU-Turkey relation would be intresting to see.
Isn't Turkey a contender for an EU member?
@@TheRealHelvetica They are but with the lack of reforms in the country and with the current government in power, it's unlikely that Turkey will join the EU any time soon and in all honesty, Turkey seems to be moving in the opposite direction on that.
I can't see any of that getting back on track until a new government is in power in Turkey.
@@TheRealHelvetica turkey, as a country threatening an eu members with war and violating greek and cyprus economical zones, there is currently no chance for any step to become an eu member.
Yeah turkey is in a weird spot by being in the custom's union but not the single market !
I'd love to see a video about the Vietnam and EU free trade agreement since till now only trade agreement with relatively rich nations with competitive economies were shown and the Vietnam trade agreement is quite a deviation from that
Fun fact there will be a Referendum this September in Switzerland, about whether or not to limit EU Immigration. If this referendum is accepted, all bilateral contracts will likely be cancelled, as a main condition for them is free movement between the EU and Switzerland
How many EU nationals can afford to live in Switzerland? It is cheaper to live in London or Paris.
@@briangasser973
Well actually many EU nationals come to Switzerland because they simply get paid more than in their home country. Once they live here they can afford a living with their new wages
@@briangasser973 in Switzerland, you can make shit heaps of money
Switzerland has always had aproblem with foreign nationals, not just EU citizens. When I worked in Geneva 30 years ago 25% of the resident population held non Swiss passports and the problem arose because Switzerland hosts the European HQs of so many multinationals . Switzerlandobjection is not to cheap labour . I can remember one guy complaining to me that his young daughter, who spoke several languages, was earning much more than him (he was a tradesman), as a secretary in a multinational. You give tax breaks and other incentives to foreign companies they'll bring in foreigners.
Could you cover the relationship of the EU and China?
Trump: *Chãýýnà*
That one is important!
Can you talk about the Balkan countries integration with the EU.
Though personally in favour of integrating the Balkan nations into the EU, I currently think it's a political mistake. However I would like to see a good video on the pro and cons. Would be an interesting video.
Eric van Wickern Non of the Balkan countries would be net contributors. Could we afford their integration at the moment?
@@Gabbertje-od7ms yes... You get cheap labour and resources in exchange
Brother! I just wrote a comment about EU + Balkans relationship! Very interesting i think, more so than swiss or norway.
Money isn't the issue. Of course they'll cost money like with Italy or Poland, but I think these Balkan nations have bigger issues. The EU is a peace project, but as long as there are ethnic Albanians and Serbs claiming eachother's territory, peace is very unstable in that region.
You should talk about the relationship between the EU and the UN 🇪🇺🤝🇺🇳
@My Channel nope
I am a German currently living in Switzerland and I can tell you I won't stay forever. It took me three months to miss all the basic privileges of living in the EU, including such simple to things as using one cell phone contract everywhere, ordering stuff on amazon or being able to wire money without ridiculous costs. So from my point of view, the Swiss can only benefit from joining the EU. Most of them might not agree though, because what the video did not mention is that public votes in Switzerland have currently put the bilateral agreement on the chopping block. For example, Switzerland has not ratified the necessary contracts with croatia because of that. So the current situation is more difficult than you might expect
The EU is not democratic enough for Switzerland.
Yes there are things like cell phone romaning, but i do not think that this is worth losing democracy.
I do not want to buy at Amazon, Amazon is not very employee friendly to say the least despite having the richest CEO. Amazon is ruthless and i do not want to support it. I am happy that they do not sell here.
I think you can avoid most transactions costs when you know how.
But once again: you gonna stay for monney and then back home .
The EU-Swiss relations are an important litmus test for the EU leadership. I kind of like how they haven't fallen in line, which in part has been keeping the EU side more honest. Ending the Swiss stock exchange is one such moment of honesty, where they obviously lost their temper a bit. It gives everyone important insight into how the EU as a whole handles a delicate negotiation that the EU leadership could easily be very frustrated with.
As a swiss citizen i can tell you that the majority of swiss populace strongly opposes to join the EU and quite frankly is quite bored of the antics of the EU by trying to force their laws above ours and removing us from the stock change.
There will be huge vote end of this month that will decide if the bilateral should be re negotiated by our government or not.
You swiss might change your mind when EU cuts all ties with you since you need EU more than EU needs Switzerland
@@tsenavi ah yes because threatening someone is a very good argument to get someone to join you great fucking thinking there buddy-o
We will never join the EU. As soon as a deal would be finalised that would push EU-Rules over swiss rules, we will make a referendum that makes it impossible to make this deal. Most of our law-rules are Kanton-bases, the smalles Kanton counts about 16'000 people, we don't want to adobt (stupid) EU-rules. And because we have the best political system in the world, there are no corrupt politicians that can force this bullshit on us.
Should they seek EU membership? I don't know, I'm not Swiss and I am always eager to back off from telling people how they should feel. For example as much as I'd like to see a united Ireland and Scotland rejoining us here in the EU, it is not my place to say they should do these things. What I would say is that if the people of Switzerland feel they now want membership, then I'd be happy to see that.
I'm pretty sure we as a population don't want that. But only the party called SVP has been against it the entire time. All the other parties try to enter the EU more or less often.
Well to sum up the development in recent years: (The majority in) Switzerland wants to keep things as they are, with bilateral agreements, but the EU is putting more and more pressure on Switzerland to join on one hand, while disconnected further and further from their own people.
As a swiss, I'm very afraid, of joining the EU. Not because of foreigners coming into Switzerland, that argument doesn't exist (we have 25% foreigners here and the majority of swiss ppl doesn't mind), but because of the foreign leadership, with legislators who are 1) not accountable, because they vote about so many things in such a short time, that they themselves can't fully undestand what they're voting about 2) they vote only "theoretically" transparently, as the protocol of voting sessions is such a mess, that the politicians get angry, if someone actually makes the effort to point out who voted for what (see copyright in the digital single market aka "EU censorship for Big Business") 3) the optimists in the eu parlament only vote for the bigger picture of a global society and don't care about single fates and 4) the economists vote in favor of stock markets and market growth and again don't care about single fates, the argument that everyone will benefit from that is false. Only big corporate benefits, the poor get poorer, relatively of course.
I really like all European people and countries, and free trade and movement would be great. But having to obey a (culturally) foreign law, foreign armies and foreign professional full time politicians is a very unsettling thought for me..
Hi could we talk?
Apparently you have no clue how the EU works. 1) MEP's in the EU parliament are not more or less accountable than any other MP's in any parliament. They represent their country and are supposed to protect the interests of that country. Of something is bad for Belgium, then you can be pretty sure that Belgian MEP's will vote against it. 2) I have no idea what you're trying to say here. 3 and 4) Yes, things that are agreed on an EU level are supposed to be about the bigger picture. That's the whole point. The EU is about cooperation between countries in a uniform way, and about our position in the rest of the world, against important economies like the US, China, Japan, etc. Without the EU, every country would just do something on their own. Our power would be greatly diminished internationally. It should be clear that the existence of the EU has greatly increased our quality of life. Many hazardous substances are now removed from many products or food, not only in the EU, but sometimes also globally, because manufacturers really want to keep selling their stuff to us so they desperately want to have the CE mark on their products. Just look at what chemicals are allowed in US food and how these are banned in the EU. This directly benefits the people, while costs for big business go up. This would never have happened when each country was still on its own. Or look at how charging cables for phones will be standardised in the EU (which means Apple is not happy), and which will probably be adopted in the rest of the world. Also, don't forget that "the EU" doesn't actually make any decisions. The EU commission is like a civil service. They only enforce laws and agreements. The actual decisions are taken by EU parliament and the Council. Many of these decisions also require unanimity, so if Malta doesn't like a certain change, they can block it. The EU does NOT impose laws upon member states. This is an essential aspect of how the EU works. The downside is that "the EU" can also not make quick decisions in a crisis. People who point this out as being a bad aspect of the EU, forget that they are in fact advocating for MORE integration, which means giving the EU level more control and take it away from the member states. In short: Switzerland already follows MANY EU laws and regulations. Not because it is mandatory, but because your companies choose to do so. However, the Swiss people don't have any influence on those laws and regulations. You just have to follow what the 27 EU members decide for you. As an EU member, Switzerland would have MORE influence in Europe, compared to now. If Switzerland wants to remain neutral, then that's fine by me and your own choice, but I don't see any reason to be so afraid. The EU is 27 countries agreeing to adopt new common laws, which makes things better/easier for those countries. If those laws would make things better, they wouldn't vote for it, would they?? Besides, if you don't like where the EU is going in the future, you always have the option of leaving. The EU is not a prison.
@@janickpauwels3792 Leaving the EU isn't that easy, and for a small country practically impossible. It's perfectly understandable why a small country would be afraid, particularly when it has a tradition of direct democracy. It's fine when you have a left of centre consensus you agree with. France and Germany remain hugely influential. If more Le Pen, Farage, Orban types come to power that can change. The EU is by and large a good thing, but it needs to be more open to divergence.
It will be interesting to see how the vote about the begrenzungsinitzative in September turns out, it would be a big step in the opposite direction.
This will fail, as it is bad for both sides. The two things are not really comparable. The Swiss just do not want to be forced or blackmailed under EC laws and courts, giving up direct democracy. This frame contract would be the end of the Switzerland we know. Won't happen.
Withdrawing equivalence to Swiss stock exchange is illegal under WTO rules (and the EU is a WTO organization).
6:53 I believe that at least in the medium term this will be exactly the future of the UK after Brexit. There really is no alternative to this, other than a permanent situation of no-deal which is not sustainable. A deal UK - EU as it is being negotiated now is nothing else but the start of endless bilateral negotiations. Insofar as Switzerland has had decades of experience in this field, future UK negotiators may want to discuss and analyze in detail what CH has achieved (or failed to achieve) in this regard.
I love this channel. I think it’s very well done and it gives people the opportunity to understand better how the eu works in all her complexities. I have a suggestion though, I think if you want to attract more followers you should make subtitles available for all the languages of the eu, or at least the majority of them. i’d be easier for non English speakers to watch your videos, i’d be worth it.
You can easily spot the the swiss and non-swiss people in the comments.
They always have to correct that Switzerland has no president.😉
@@Leenapanther it is quite an important idea that we would like to export to other countries.
Switzerland democracy has a bottom-up approach, which seems as the opposite, therefore incompatible, to how a EU centralised decision making process works. History has many times over showed us that decentralisation is the only way forward and Switzerland is a living proof of it. The W.E.F. is held in Davos Switzerland for a good reason.
You know that it's the countries who run the shots in the EU?
Yes the reason is; the Industrialists want to study corruption with the most corrupt of the corrupt ... Switzerland. Once you have recognized it, you can only be ashamed of our dirty country Switzerland.
Es ischbecht zum chotze.
@@dasklima5751 Oh Boy! Another deeply brainwashed lefties!!! Please don't forget your pills, will you?
@@loremipsum99 Switzerland made lots of money with slavery, with the nazis, and is home to FIFA and Nestle. Prosecutors involved in corruption, the dirty and racist SVP, dictators have a free pass, money from corrupt politicians of all countries hidden in swiss banks... and they are proud of it.
@@nacachola1 Another heavily indoctrinated lefty, BLM, ANTIFA, marxist, socialist, communist, progressist etc i.e.= today's fascists, who knows shit about whatever he is talking about. LOL Slavery? LOL! Nazis? Many made money with the nazis during that time. FIFA and Nestle are two international organisations, and like many in Switzerland, have not much to do with Switzerland ie the country. Please educate yourself and learn how to make the difference between a country, its citizens and international organisations or headquarters based in a particular country = The city of Bruxelles is not the EU. FIFA is highly corrupt as so many other sports. The SVP party is an ultra liberal party, they are not socialists (like Hitler or the fascists of last century). The SVP party is pro direct democracy as opposed to the centralisation of power true marxist, socialist, communist dictators crave. SVP = Liberty. Oh and by the way, immigration is human trade. So you defend immigration, you support slavery. Today the reds are the problem like they have always been, they are the true fascists, the international socialists are the new nazis. And clearly .... you are one of their useful idiots!!!! Now watch all the left ideologies being kicked out of the way .... Good luck!!
I think the level of political participation and education is exceptionally high in Switzerland. And that is related to a political culture that may change as part of the EU. It is something worth saving. I would not expect a significant change there if the Swiss would join the EU. But then, Switzerland is independent by nature - it would be strange if it would be "part" of anything.
Probably not, but that participation would become as issue as - to roughly say it - If referendum decides something Government is obligated to implement it - including withdrawal from international treaty...
The power of citizen vote trumps everything else. EU legal system does not accept that.
Switzerland is having an important vote at the end of September on the freedom of movement. If the initiative is accepted then all other agreements with the EU fall through!
Alex Dakin this will never get accepted. Its already unacceptable what these shitheads are proposing. so far from reality and sense.
and if all other agreements fall through, then the Swiss (and I'm one too, French-Swiss) will have to realize how much of their economy depended on those... kinda remind me of something on the other side of a Channel... but at least in Switzerland, many peoples are aware of that and are warning against it...
will see what the votation result in...
@TheFranksConqueredEurope cry more
@TheFranksConqueredEurope 👍
@TheFranksConqueredEurope 🤦🏻♂️
No Switzerland should definitely distance from the eu as much as they can.
I agree. But many Adults here in Switzerland wish to join the EU. Everytime i hear someone say "we should join the EU" im shockd. Do theese people not see whats wrong with the EU system?.
Mario G90 I know right, I mean I can see why it’s difficult for Switzerland to ignore it as it’s literally surrounded by the EU, but the Swiss have one of the most prosperous nations in the world a bit like Norway in a way, because they have more control. The systems in side the will only hurt Switzerland because if you’re rich and not Germany you get the shit that the UK had.
@@garrenwright256 Switzerland’s politics and stability depends on the Eu 😂.
Perfect timing, since we'll have a vote in September on the leave from the freedom of movement and, by proxy, the Bilaterals I. I definitely don't want this to be accepted but I understand the issues the initiative committee has. On one side, I'd love if Switzerland could join the EU for all the benefits it could have, but on the other side, it would undermine our principals of having a say in the matter. The EU is not made for direct democracy and if the Swiss had to implement laws that someone else has "forced" on them without the general public being able to oppose it by calling an initiative, it would screw up the core of what, in my mind, makes Switzerland special and great to live in.
I want to be asked if our military should get the money for new air fighters, I want to be asked if the laws for hunting wolves should be changed, I want to be asked if men should get state-mandated parental leave. I wouldn't have this option in an EU country like Germany because at best they'd have to listen to what I / a collective has to say, but they are under no obligation to do anything.
I don't see how EU is undermining Swiss direct democracy. You're not giving the proper explanation.
@@stef1896 The EU is not a very democratic construct to begin with. The whole construct is as indirect as a thing that calls itself democratic can be. I'm not against the EU - but I can understand why the Swiss won't join. Their system is completely contrary. For all the good and bad that comes with that - it just doesn't match.
@@Maeniel83 You just said a well known, generic cliché, but you are not saying which rules would make Swiss less democratic. EU doesn't forbid referendums, nor direct democracy. Political system is exclusively on members itself. EU didn't even interfere in UK's electoral system based on bizarre First-past-the-post system. Personally, I don't think any country should be a member without a proportional representation, but EU itself doesn't object even to the First-past-the-post.
Thanks, so well put. I couldn't have said it better.
Liebi grüess us em Aargau ;)
@@stef1896 It's not about how we elect our representatives or conduct politics in Switzerland. It's about the fact that the public can potentially veto every law in Switzerland, this is not provided in the EU. We would have to adhere to laws that we are not able to stop.
Plus the fact that the decision making process in the EU is very indirect, meaning a lot of important decisions are taken/shaped by representatives of the executive (conferences of prime ministers or EU counsel) and not by directly elected officials (the EU parliament) or the electorate. This is a very big difference in philosophy the Swiss aren't willing to change on.
I’ve been on a holiday this year at the Swiss part of the Bodensee. Can someone explain why it’s so much more expensive than Austria and Germany, only a few kilometers away. Sometimes twice as expensive.
Because they're so much more wealthy.
Some things are really artificial my my book, like the difference for cosmetics, costing about 3x more in Switzerland than in Germany.
It probably comes down to higher income and lower taxes.
Whe it comes to higher costs for goods, possible reasons are that we still have border customs and quotas. And also that the swiss currency is gone up in value. It’s expensive to buy francs for about everybody.
For services and anything that contains “swiss labor” the reason is that Swiss wages are high and our infrastructure is valuable.
Switzerland is in a different custom’s zone, you can’t freely import and export from neighbouring countries as you like. Since it is a smaller market this means higher prices. Britain will soon be in a similar situation though less pronounced since it has a lower standard of living.
- People make more money. Someone in a shop or restaurant needs a higher wage and therefore prices are higher. The wage of a simple workers is way higher in Switzerland than Germany.
- Animal welfare: When you want to buy products from animals, like dairy, you pay more because Switzerland has higher animal welfare standards. The standards in the EU are very bad, they are also bad in Switzerland but way less.
- There are things that are cheaper. I pay less for electronics than i would in Germany.
At this point, Switzerland is really only independent of the EU in name only - with the sole purpose of placating the very independent-minded Swiss, as you can see in a plethora of election adverts there. The fact of the matter is that Switzerland does pay a lot of money to the EU, has to ratify all EU rules to not drop out of the single market and has - to my knowledge - already tied the Swiss Franc directly to the Euro. If the swiss eventually decide to vote on ratifying all EU laws and regulations automatically, that really is the point where they should think about full membership.
CHF was tied to the EUR for a while but is not now. It is a serious problem as CHF is a safe haven currency and when too many people buy it, it becomes too expensive for the economy. It's value does not reflect the economic worth of the country anymore. So even in the 1970's (as far as I remember) you can have negative interest rates in CHF to discourage people buying it.
"The fact of the matter is that Switzerland does pay a lot of money to the EU, has to ratify all EU rules to not drop out of the single market and has"
Switzerland does not pay into the EU. It pays a contribution to the new eu member states of the eastern enlargement of 1.3 billion over 10 years for access to the internal market and for projects that we can determine yourself. When this decision was made at the time, it was called blackmail by the EU in the Swiss political landscape.
and we also do not automatically adopt EU laws. They are always discussed first and if they do not conflict with Swiss law, then the EU rules are adopted where it makes sense to secure trade.
e.g. EU weapons law first had to survive a vote, or internet law (article 14.16) was not adopted
@@p.c.k.m.h690 It should be noted that all EU members have to do whatever their democratic process demands to enact new EU laws. So for the UK that meant a vote in Parliament.
@@stephenconway2468 yes That is true, but if an EU country rejects a legal reform, the EU has the right to initiate "compensatory measures". so punish them for it.
or you will vote until the result suits your interests. (ireland)
@@p.c.k.m.h690 To be fair, it never or very rarely gets to that stage. Few EU laws are put forward that don't have full agreement at the European Council level. If a country for national politics reasons needs to make some noise, then there is often space to do that. Likewise, at the European Parliament level, soundings are taken and committees are checked beforehand. The EU Commission is charged with checking that it does not contradict treaties and EU law. Then parties like the Swiss ambassador also have informal input should an issue be tricky to sell back home.
It can happen, it has happened.... but it is rare.
Of all the UK's laws only about 0.03% were actually voted against at the council level. This was mainly for local politics. That does not include the number of times when British politicians in the European Parliament still supported the law.
Nothing about our national vote happening this September about canceling the Bilaterals I with the EU?
Not sure how well or how long a nation like Switserland can truly remain outside of the EU, outside they'd have far less capability to actually go against what the EU wants.
Inside it however they could block about every single point, putting them in a stronger position.
Curious how this will enfold but an overly aggressive push from the EU to deepen the ties seems like a bad idea.
The problem is that by joining the EU swiss representatives would gain a lot of power, while the direct democracy would become even more reactive. So yeah swiss representatives would gain tons and tons of power, while the public would lose it
@@toffeeFairy Why would the public loose? Every country has to approve almost every deal the EU makes, so just make it that every approval has to be done by referendum, how would the public loose power in that sense?
@@tobiasL1991 Well if they EU would infact play along with that, which would take at least an additional 6 months, direct democracy is slow. Also there're several EU laws, that conflict with current swiss laws or make them null if applied, which would rule those things out of control of the direct system.
I have to state to that switzerland is as close to the EUas possible, without being in it.
given Switzerland don't spit on particular part of the agreements (Schengen), there will be no change neither for integration nor for "independence"...
but, the EU already warned that being part of Schengen was linked to all the other agreements and, Switzerland has a lot to lose if they're not part of those anymore... but then, it's the citizen that will decide and for once, I will surely cast my ballot, it's way too important...
@@kolerick please correct some of your spelling its actually hard to understand what your point of is
any one know what program he uses for the text transitions? it looks cool when letters look like they are just rearranging themselves.
Next do a video about Mario Draghi. What has he done so far to energize Italy's economy? Explain in detail how he used Golden Rule to prevent Chinese takeover of Milan based semiconductor company. Also, what can Italians and EU expect from a Draghi premiership. Tq.
Yes Switzerland should be part of switzerland !!!!
I'd like to hear about EU relationship with Ukraine and Georgia.
Can you do a video on the Ukraine deal and the DCFTA, please?
Vote yes September to stop this madness. Switzerland has been strong because was the country deciding what was necessary for peapole not what Brussels needs. Last chance to save what left of Switzerland!
Cover the EU and Balkans please, always been curious on the relationship there. Seems a lot of different countries are there
Switserland is wise by not being an EU member. If only Belgium was as wise
When a country doesn't want to be a member that wish should be respected of course,.. and if it wants to have some other kind of relationship then the agreement should reflect that wish as well as avoid a free riders position.
So,.. this Brexiteer's idea of keeping Polish carpenters out while letting UK-bankers freely roam through Europe.. How about "No, thanks"
Brexiteers are the biggest hypocrites going. They whinge about the EU being undemocratic but support blocking a vote to allow Scotland to leave the UK.
@@anpratadraiochtuil5293 They already had a referendum. We aren't like Ireland where we force the issue until we get the result wanted
@@shadowdugify Brexit changes the situation significantly. Most Scots voted to stay with the understanding that they would remain in the EU. A referendum now would take place in a much different context than before.
@@shadowdugify How about a Scottish vote for EU membership then?
@@chardonnay5767 You had a vote
The EU is not Europe. Switzerland has much more in common with some countries like austria or germany than the EU has. EU is a not working community that is much enfrauded. A lot of countries would prefer to exit if this could be done in a sense manner (not like brexit). So the best would be that countries like austria and germany would exit EU and become a new cantons of switzerland. That would help all.
EU-ASEAN negotiation. What is it like for two supranational institutions to negotiate, give that both have very different degrees of member state integration?
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Inflation is low, almost no unemployment, almost no homeless.. maybe not being part of the EU isn't that bad for us. Our political system just doesn't fit in to the EU.
@testtestt-ny8pn that's maybe true. At least you have much better food than we have across the Rösti Graben.
how many colouring books did they order?
Answer: way way WAY too many
brexit colouring book is something i never knew i wanted.
Switzerland will not join the EU and is in fact moving away from the EU requirements to control areas of Swiss law. They do not want to be under any control of the EU.
They voted with around 65% to remain in scenghen... I guess you’re wrong!
Another history lesson?
There are some very real issues which deserve much more attention.
Please clear the airwaves and write a book.
You could also add that you can withdraw euro banknotes in any ATM in Switzerland and pay anywhere using euros.
Switzerland would have no problem adapting to the European political system since the Helvetic Confederation is already an extremely complicated and bureaucratic organization. 🤣
Honestly I don't know why people think that switzerland has a complicated system. As a swiss I think it's pretty straight forward. It is very different from other countries which don't have direct democracy maybe that's why people think it's complicated because they can't imagen such a system.
I don't think switzerland is bureaucratic, at least not more then the neighbouring countries.
The Federal Goverment is actually really small compared to countries like france, and that's by design because the system is designed in a decentralized way.
According to the World Economic Forum switzerland is #9 in the world in terms of goverment efficiency.
I don't think we can adapt to the European political system since it would limit our right in certain ways how we handle direct demoracies.
The result of that would be that the swiss would probably leave the moment the EU would deny them the right to vote about something.
The Europeans have a history of monarchies, fascism , and communism.
Now they have a stable representive democracy.
They never had or allowed a direct democratic system and don't understand why it is important to us to vote about thing and that power has to be implemented from the bottom up and not from the politicians down.
How about the EU becoming more swiss in terms of democracy, research, fiscal responsability and business friendliness? It could become the Switzerland of the XXI century world. Maybe then I'd make sense for the swiss to join, for now their interesting and working political system (that is a jewel in this shit world) could lose many of its virtues.
The eu as the world's swirzerland, a man can dream!
If you're gonna dream you better dream big: the EU as the world's Scandinavia.
@@hannahg8439 hey buddy, we winter olympic nations should stand together!
but our political system is better!
see you at the next ski race!
Th EU being the largest fiscal paradise in the world, a man can dream 😂 (I'm Swiss by the way and I defenetly agree on the democratic side)
Fully agree there, More Democratic reforms need to be done on the EU, I still do belive in the EU and its ideas, Politcs and the power it brings to those in the EU but there is flaws in the EU that do need to be reformed, Mostly when it comes to Electing Officals.
@@snickims9717 I could not possibly agree more with your comment.
EU member states have a few things they could learn from SW so, although I would love to see SW integrated in the EU, maybe the term of that integration should lean a bit more towards EU adopting SW laws, in some cases.
weirdly people think that things functioning within tiny populations ... switzerland has less people than paris ... would function on continents **rolleyes**
what the flying fuck ... I take your point, however you must remember two things: one is that technology makes some things possible, at a large scale, in 2020 that were not even conceivable when our political systems were designed.
Second, a lot of the good things I see in SW stem from education and upbringing and that is one of the major faults in many EU countries, my own included, and it is something where population size is irrelevant
@@CarlosKTCosta so long the EU follows the illegitimate Forms of democracy, in some cases not even the hollow forms , so long there is no point for us Swiss to further integrate .
niet Name I can perfectly see how the Swiss feel that way, I might think the same way if I was Swiss
politicians, not all, but the profession as a whole are professional deal-makers and professional liars. their pockets and minds of those are filled by the powerful behind them, whoever that is in your culture.
you can be under the, openly disputed or not, impression to be in a democracy and still have no power.
just because "the politicians" are rolling off decisions like:
• should we build a mosque here OR
• should this trash yard be build next to the kindergarden
onto the public does not mean there is any major difference in the distribution of power.
the swiss system is nothing I envy.
the swiss culture is not a role model all parents of europe would want to raise their kids after.
Well, were going to vote on a so called "begrenzungs Initiative" which, if passed, will pretty much undermine the billaterale 1 and most likely lead to further collapse of relations with the eu. Luckily it seems that the idea is pretty unpopular and wont pass, and i hope it doesnt
Yeah, the Bilaterale are all way too popular and we overwhelmingly supported them so far.
I see no way the Kündigungsinitiative would actually pass.
It's just our equivalent to the US Republican Party trying to score political points in an attempt to cater to the xenophobic part of their basis.
I can't see us joining the EU by principle of how we deal with things we do or don't want. If something is amiss, then we the actual fuckin' people can vote for change _and_ more importantly get it _done_ which is in stark contrast to how things would run if we were part of the EU and giving up such power isn't exactly something people are keen on loosing when a lot of things are amiss across the border(s). Maybe if the EU changes how they operate we might reconsider but in the current state I highly doubt it 🧐
It’s a really interesting perspective. The EU walks a delicate line of trying to respect countries sovereignty vs being more democratic. The power direct democracy injected into the EU, along with the power that entails, the less sovereignty a nation holds and vice versa. Some countries are more kean for one way or the other and, as with a lot of things humans do, is a compromise which takes on the worst bits of both worlds.
I love how you guys handle democracy! I'm from South Tyrol and it would be so great if we could become a part of Switzerland even though I know that's nearly impossible
Mountain people, be they Swizz or Norwegian or on another continent entirely has *never* been keen on external control in local matters.
And trying to "tighten the thumbscrews" is a bad idea.
Perhaps Norway should "tighten the thumbscrews" and add further taxes on gas companies selling natural gas to the EU.
Actual export taxes is probably covered by the EEA agreements, but we're free to set whatever tax levels on *total* income that we please.
And we wish to transition towards a greener future anyway.
The EEA members outside the EU does *not* want to join, don't try to force us.
Because, as we all know:
A) the Brexit negotiations and subsequent FTAs that were organised by Westminster were a roaring success and are in stark contrast to how things run in the EU
B) the people voted concisely to leave the EU in the strictest form possible and no non-democratic influences were at play, unlike, say the Treaty of Lisbon which was reshaped to fit the Irish electorate's wishes
C) countries in the EU cannot request to leave unlike in the UK where countries are free to leave without permission from a party voted in largely by an entirely differently country
D) The Upper House of the UK is entirely appointed by elected officials and in no way do the clergy nor the landed gentry have any tangible influence in UK political discourse unlike the European Commission
The UK is indeed a beacon of democracy in a heavily autocratic Europe. I look forward to how Westminster will treat us in the periphery of the country with respect in the future, as they have always done in the past, and I cannot wait to appreciate the continued closeness of our fair "United" Kingdom.
@@anpratadraiochtuil5293 Careful. Not everyone will get the sarcasm. This is the Internet, after all! 😉
why are referendums on EU-related things always so close?
So we can say no and say it just this time, but everyone knows that nowadays Swiss people would vote in a majority no to enter the EU, too much hassle when we have bilaterals
However, on the 27th we're going to vote the Swiss exit to this deal. Brexit 2 if it really gets through. Some scary stuff.
Long live Switzerland!
👍🏾
Mach dich ned lächerlich
Well look at the numbers. Switzerland is better off without the EU. It has lower unemployment, a higher GDP and ranks higher in satisfaction than EU countries surrounding it.
@ashley that is true. Germany is one of the richest nations on earth still it's not really comparable. But based on my work experience with German business partners and co-workers it's not because of the people but rather their bad luck in history and stupid politicians burning money by ordering from companies who offer them the best paid girls and champagne rather than the most cost-effective solution to the actual task at hand.
You saw the video. You know how close Switzerland is to the EU. So how can you write such nonsense?
@@dohlecarnett1866 Because I actually do live there. And I've crossed the border to Germany at least a hundred times. I guess you have never lived anywhere close to Switzerland, right? I mean go to Waldshut, that is just after the border in Germany and tell me which other town the same size has so many stores that are just full and running that well. They're almost exclusively operating for the Swiss for sure most would go out of business without. It's just an example which shows that there is a huge difference in spending power and economic performance. That is not to say that the EU isn't helping to make Switzerland that rich, they are.
@@gentuxable My point was that you, similiar to Brexiteers, make it out to be that economies in the 21st century are NOT intertwined which each other and can easily untangle their relationships and keep going on as everything is normal.
Switzerland has made a lot of his wealth specifically because of that constellation. Imagine Switzland had no deals with the EU at all, do you really think it would be where it is now?
So to say it would be better off without the EU is simply nonsense. Wait till January. If you are lucky, you'll have a superb proof for that.
@@dohlecarnett1866 Ok point taken but I when I said "without the EU" I assumed that everybody understands it like "without being part of the EU" this would have been more correct. And I agree that "without any contract with the EU" is going to be a very different story as you may have seen in my reply. But being actual EU member would also be a bad outcome because Switzerland has many advantages in being disconnected. That's how I meant it.
I feel like Switzerland got the raw end of this deal.
"Oven ready" deal anyone? :D
Such a informative video. I have studied this and you really highlighted the important parts in a very balanced way.
I would love to see a video about Iceland's trade deal relation with EU.
have you followed the relationship between the eu and switzerland?
what do you think of the current negotiations?
@@p.c.k.m.h690 I did a paper on this when I was in the university several years ago. I think he concluded this well not been looking into the current. So what are your opinion about the current negotiations?
@@larstenfaelt1859 in short, for me the EU is not a democratic entity.
and the framework agreement must be rejected. It's tough because the CH is currently closely linked to the EU. but the contract is hard to beat when it comes to disrespect.
The EU would like us to automatically adopt EU laws, and would like the ECJ to be the last instance in the event of a dispute. what we don't want to accept, obviously.
then they want to soften our employee protection, because we still have the highest average wages in europe and our unions are going crazy.
so in summary, not much
@@p.c.k.m.h690 Thanks for the update. I saw that on the video and I have heard a little about it.
EU is a democratic organisation for its members but it's not this direct democratic way that you do it, it's a representative democracy.
I have been quite a lot in Switzerland and has lots of friends there. Yes, I know about your higher wages and long traditions for workers right. I'm from Sweden and have a similar situation but as we are members we are part of the process defining this. So I see the problem when you are a non member but still want access to the single market.
I have been working for years in the UK and seen the total crash between the old imperial mindset that some have and that the reality is different. The Tories have built up a rhetoric from thatchers time that Brussels dictates everything. In reality it's presently mainly related to the common market (where workers rights are included) and environment. They have huge problems when they really don't know what standards they want...only that they don't want them set by Brussel. So they will have hard time to trade if they don't get their act together. I think it's the same with CH that you need to know exactly what you want but also see how this fits into the bigger picture.
Thanks again for enlighten me and I will follow this.
also at the time of croatia ref in switzerland, eu retaliated by halting energy talks.
It would interesting to see a video about 'Golfgate' (Oireachtas Golf Society scandal) in the Republic of Ireland.
No way a video on how old farts took an easy way out of the last jobs they would ever have with pensions kangaroo county
Hi Jack and team - I would love to see one on the Irish rejections of EU treaties (Nice & Lisbon).
switzerland was able to secure a lot of benefits that would usually require joining the EU, a big reason for it is their pure wealth, it would simply be a bad deal for EU to refuse to such a strong economy.
honestly, good for them
I'd love to see the relationship between the EU and members of the EU, like Portugal or Cyprus
@ML8593wy yes, we are United as Europeans so we can face the other great power's in this world, and I'm proud of it. But nevertheless every EU country has different benefits, contributions, etc, etc etc
I think it is quite interesting how Austria joined to the EU
Why does your voice sound different in the beginning vs the end? Did you use a old recording? I like the latter better.
The deal is about to end and change!
This would suit Britain, removal of trade barriers yet retaining the mythical, magical 'Sovereignty'.
another referendum on the free movement of people could put the bilateral agreements at risk as if one of a set is broken then the whole packet is torn up.
Would you be able to produce a video on a future trade agreement between the UK and the EU. Could it cover the benefits of a trade agreement against the benefits of a “No deal Brexit”? I am asking on behave of a Mr B Johnson, Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA
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Britain’s position in the EU is just as unique: today Britain opts out from more than 1,200 EU laws and regulations and yet keeps complaining about lack of independence from the EU. Another president like Trump in the US and Switzerland won’t need to worry about joining the EU because there will be no EU.
"There will be no EU"... HA... HA... HA... The EU is now stronger than ever after brexit, while the UK has problems filling supermarket shelves and gas stations. It is crisis after crisis in the UK, just 9 months after leaving the EU. I think it is clear that the UK greatly underestimated how dependent they actually were on the EU.
I'm EU citizen, pro-EU and live in Switzerland.
Switzerland should not join the EU. Most importantly, they don't want to. Switzerland will turn to shit when they happens for a variety it reasons already mentioned in the video. Mostly importantly, the Swiss know this and reject losing their independence.
You are contradicting yourself...you say you're pro-EU and then you equate being in EU to being a slave to Brussels ("losing their independence").... so you are basically pro-Slavery..
No hand-waiving please.. what 'independence'?
@@ameyas7726 it's not contradiction. EU is great but it has its negative sides too, like the Swiss. Switzerland already benefits from the positive sides (trade), joining will just mean adding the negatives rather than having extra positives. Fuck off with this "slave to Brussels" shit. EU saved this continent from wars to prosperity. If you disagree, ok but go spill your brexiteer garbage in someone else's comment. I'm a pro EU but some things are better left as they are..instead forcing to get the Swiss to join.
its really weird how all these referendums and even national elections are often so close. always like 48/52. 49/51. 48.5/51.5 etc. what does that say about our societies?
Depending on the vote there is a double majority
And it's also the result of thoses who voted yes or no not counting blanks nulled or none voters
Very nice video
You'd sell a lot more Ireland badges if it was united, not many Irish people want to show any support for the partition.
Do the Mercosur failed deal!
The Swiss can do what their population wants. If they don't want it they don't want it. It's a sovereign nation and their direct Democracy is a good thing.
Wouldn't complain if they decided to join though.
So Is Switcherland in the EU?
Well yes but actually no
9:10 - biggest BS I've heard in a while! The Swiss, openly trying to be racist, fail to acknowledge that there is a large portion of their demographic structure now, which wasn't born in the country. There was, is and always will be an influx of foreign nationals and it is not hard to see why. As working in a Swiss company from abroad, I can tell you that the ethnic Swiss are decreasing, as they admit it, but the "Swissness" of the newcomers is the same! This is what matters - not the complexion of your skin, your dialect or background, but what you believe and work for! In the end of the day, it is the same country, obeying the same laws of democracy.
Side note, it is funny to see a Swiss from Asian origin complaining about foreigners coming to Switzerland. The irony is fucking there :D
I'm not onboard with all this "X should be more Y and vice versa" you see in these comments. I want a strong military and economic union that doesn't compromise on fundamental principles of modern democracies like separation of powers.
I don't want my country, Sweden, to be more European, French, Italian, or Bulgarian. And I don't want them to be more Swedish or anything else. I'm genuinely scared that they're losing their character in the future.
This is a more general problem than an EU problem. I don't want Sweden to become more North American as I've seen it become in some ways. But when you guys say stuff like this I'm concerned that you think that's a measure of success in the EU. It's not. And on all these more fine grained issues than trade, defence and macroeconomics I question the validity of having a system like the US where their supreme court and federal is very far reaching.
Edit:
Also I think you're losing sight of what you mean here. Because X becoming more like Y doesn't mean you take everything good and X and everything good in Y and combine them.
It's never going to work like that. It's ignoring all the context that motivates why parts of X/Y is good and bad and just assume the most ideal combination will happen.
Don't make empty statements of unity, make real uniting claims and see who agrees.
I love how everyone wants everything to be diverse and the way they try to achieve it is by mixing everything until nothing is left anymore.
Well following the lead of the stronger isn't that normal?
In Kalmar Union your lords liked a danish queen, still sweden kept being swedish in its heart
When danish king Christian IV ruled you got scania (skåne), they still are scanians
Under Louis XIV the swedish got a lot of inspiration, like every other western european country
under Napoleon you got a new royal house, still swedes are swedish
After WW2 the strong power is the USA, so a lot of things got americanized, like soft drinks (coca cola etc), fast food(MacDonalds etc), Jeans
in 1950s and onwards immigrants came and so did rice, pizza, kebab etc
So yes sweden year 1020, 1520 and 2020 are very different societies. Nothing is stable, still swedish people are swedish people with their culture. In 2520 even if there is no sweden as country I still think there will be swedes being swedes. Just in another form then what we know today
@@Dovndyr13 You are right. But people have a memory span of a generation. That's around 25 years.
And what people also do is relativating the patriotism of their "enemies" while being patriotic themselves. Obviously it is not as obvious but it still is here.
The same people that say: "What is swedish" also defend globalism and are highly offended at everything negative about Karl Marx.
My thoughts on this topic can be summarized in three points.
- Either care about identity or don't, but don't say one form of patriotism is meaningless while holding to pretty much the same patriotism. And don't say, white countries have no culture but black do. I call that hypocrite.
- Questioning people on their patriotism is a pretty strong weapon against western countries. There are people fully aware of that and use it especially because of that. Not because they actually believe what they are saying.
- I prefer peaceful and not oppressing countries. And a flood of foreign people with a culture conflict will definitely cause unrest. And replacing a population is just another form of imperialism. Which I don't like.
Since I don't know who you are, this comment is not meant as an attack on you. More an argument against the opinion of certain people I came across. You might hold completely different views.
@@Dovndyr13 I think this is different. Cultural exchanges are much more rapid. The world is smaller in a lot of ways.
If I was a farmer in Sweden in the 1600s there's little chance that any action from France would change me culturally. Exception being an invasion and some sort of forced cultural conversion. It doesn't happen in my lifetime. And sure you'll see it happen on longer timescales. But that's inherently different to what I'm thinking of. We all have a lot of homogeneity now. That's the problem. Not the gradual change in customs on a local level.
That's the main thing I think of preserving. But even the more practical matters like government structure shouldn't be motivated by convergence as a goal. It's extremely clear for me right now with the pandemic. The fact that there's countries where politicians are the ones that people look to when dealing with this pandemic scares me. I'm much happier to leave recommendations with the public health agency without any direct political involvement. Because they know what to do and what's proven to have good effect. They also don't just look to the virus like a politician seeking reelection might. Other countries also seem to coarse for me, but maybe that's because I look at global news and nobody talks about what a powers an individual US county has in dealing with the pandemic. Here our municipal governments have most of that power.
That's not to say our system is the best or that it's something others should adopt. Other countries have different circumstances and people rarely account for that.
Like when Americans look to Europe as a model for a health system and then places like New York that'd be all over that in a popular vote oppose things like sugar tax. They don't get it, these are hard problems.
Thanks you for this video. But I'm still confused. How can Switzerland regulate the goods coming in and out of it's borders, but not people? Are there different border checkpoints for people and cargo trucks? Are there different checkpoints for EU & Swiss citizens and Non-EU citizens? Maybe I'm limited by my American perspective, but I don't see how Switzerland can allow the free movement of people, but not goods and services since coming from the EU. How does Switzerland prevent the goods that the EU imports from other countries entering Switzerland without any tariffs. What prevents Chinese, American, and Japanese exports from avoid Swiss customs duties if they can easily sneak into Switzerland from Germany or Italy? What regulations prevent that from happening. This video has not satisfied my confusion! I'm sorry if I should, but I truly don't understand it.
TLDR, can you please answer this question. I'm sorry for being annoying, but I can't wrap my head around it. My Comparative Euro professor only talked about bonafide EU countries and former Soviet Republics
There's an electronic system in place that registers goods before leaving/entering Switzerland. There are however random checks at the border. As for free movement of people, it's because of the Schengen agreement allowing residents in border areas freedom to cross borders away from fixed checkpoints, and the harmonisation of visa policies. For example some workers/scientists at CERN live in France and they cross to Switzerland daily to attend work.
@Reilly Grant Hello, my knowledge is limited, but I'm swiss, so maybe I can help... Free movement of people and policing the border for cargo/duties are two distinct processes. Free movement pertains to work and residency. It's handled by swiss residents' registration office. People were able to cross the border to Switzerland even before "Free Movement", as tourists, for shopping, transfer, work etc. Some bordercrossings were unchecked, but most were monitored by police and we had to show ID. Nowadays with "Free Movement" it is much easier to obtain work and residence for EU-citizens. Less requirements for permits, less regulations etc.
Now when it comes to policing the border, not much has changed. Checking peoples passports is less frequent. Checking for contraband in private cars also is less frequent and often takes place inland, on random streets. At the border there are special lanes for trucks and also for private cars who wish to import goods. There are duties to be paid and paperwork to be filled.
Goods imported into Switzerland, as well all those in transit, must be declared to the Federal Customs Administration. Certain goods are subject to import restrictions. Importers need to show certificates of origin, analysis certificates, cargo manifests and whatnot...
Customs is not overly concerned with people crossing the border. Swiss administration (residents' registration office, and a myriad of other services) are very efficient, and would be exceedingly difficult to live or work without permit in Switzerland.
@@SuperXavifan thank you so much!!!
@@reillygrant2228 you're welcome.
Take on EU and Ukraine relations next.
I remember it suspending free movement between 2005-2013
I wish we had a system like the swiss
You couldn't think of a better discount code than BIDET book😂
Thank you for your work to bring the relations between Switzerland and the EU closer to non-Swiss citizens (even if there were small mistakes, e.g. 4:10 Switzerland does not have a president, it could be that René Felber was chairman of the federal council)
would have liked to hear more about the negotiations of the framework agreement from the point of view of a "neutral" observer. because these negotiations are currently ongoing and are probably the most important political decision our country has made in a long time.
They are British so they don't care about facts when they don't follow their narrative.
@@popelgruner595 That is just plain stupid man.
It would be so good to see Switzerland joining the EU, as well as other countries that are not part of it yet, such as Norway. We should always remember to stay proud of our nations and our culture, but only united can Europe stand strong against US and China. Alone, none of us are competitive and powerful enough. I think all European countries should join, and then work together to make the EU better, instead of staying out of it.
@@andrasadam8256 No it's not.
It is pretty accurate.
@@andrasadam8256 a lot of people think the swiss would define themselves through their neutrality. but this is wrong. we define ourselves through direct democracy (yes, yes half ..) and federalism.
and the eu is exactly the opposite.
and no swiss would give up just a little of it for the hope that it would come back in some form!
e.g. if switzerland would vote on the DD, it would be adopted with over 90% of the votes. that would be the first vote with a result over 90% without cheating worldwide.
Not to do with the EU or trade deals but the East African Federation would be a really interesting topic to cover. Not many times countries think about uniting.
I won't comment on if the Swiss should get more involved with EU, that's for them. I'm not anti EU, i voted to stay, though now it just needs to be wrapped up even if that means leaving with no agreement. What I do have a really big issue with is a population voting against something and then Swiss/EU leaders do it anyway just calling it something else. It makes a mockary of democracy, even if you don't agree with it you have to respect it, it is the 1 non negotiable part of western government. EU shouldn't bully a population into what they want, tho apparently once in you can behave in the worst way and no repercussions. I am glad this channel exists as it seems to try to be balanced, very little of that on int'l news with CNN etc becoming a joke in recent years
Those agreements between Switzerland and EU were approved by the swiss population in multiple referendums. The swiss I talked with about EU/Swiss integration, aren't very keen to join EU (even that some think it will come to a point that will be inevitable), but they appreciate very much the current agreements and don't want to lose the advantages they give them.
What is the EU's relationship with San Marino, Monaco, and Liechtenstein?
And don't forget Andorra too
Switzerland has the most beautiful democracy! Please don't ruin it by joining the EU
What will they do when they runout of good chocolate? You can’t live without good chocolate, can you?
fun on the side I hope the Eu sees that they needs us just as we do need them and that they accept that we do not want to accept everything by kissing hand
There will be no Switzerland mark 2 with Britain. Forget it. The EU has been there done that and never intend to repeat it.