Switzerland is divided: half the population is satisfied with Swiss foreign policy, the other half is not. What remains 30 years after the people rejected Switzerland’s accession to the European Economic Area (EEA) on December 6, 1992?
71 percent of the Swiss population is now in favor of joining the EEA. According to a study by the research institute gfs.bern commissioned by the European Movement, the majority of the population wants full access to the European internal market and participation in EU cooperation programmes.
Hope for more cooperation
Cooperation in the fields of education, energy and security is highly desirable. Energy and education preferences are largely independent of political orientation.
The most important and at the same time most urgent concern from the point of view of the voters is stable relations with the EU. A relative majority does not agree with ending negotiations on the framework agreement with the European Union (EU). An absolute majority believes that the relationship has deteriorated since then.
War in Ukraine helps the EU’s reputation
However, the stable relationship is also in tension, according to the study, as the second most urgent aspect of foreign policy is for Switzerland to be as independent and neutral as possible. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February and the war in the Eastern European country have improved the EU’s image among a relative majority of voters somewhat to strongly. (lazy/SDA)