Switzerland is not in the European Union but has signed up to many of its policies. However, in May the Swiss Federal Council decided to stop negotiations of the EU-Swiss Institutional Framework Agreement.

As an EFTA (European Free Trade Area) member, Switzerland took part in the negotiations for the EEA (European Economic Area) Agreement and signed the agreement on 2 May 1992. Immediately after that, the Swiss Government submitted an application for accession to the EU on 22 May 1992. However, following a referendum held on 6 December 1992 that yielded a vote against participating in the EEA, the Swiss Federal Council stopped pursuing the country’s EU and EEA membership. Since then, Switzerland has developed its relations with the EU through bilateral agreements in order to safeguard its economic integration with the EU. The EU and Switzerland have signed over 120 bilateral agreements, including a free trade agreement in 1972, and two major series of sectoral bilateral agreements that aligned a large portion of Swiss law with that of the EU at the time of signing. While the agreements intensified economic relations, they also created a complex and sometimes incoherent network of obligations. In order to resolve these problems, EU-Swiss negotiations for an Institutional Framework Agreement (IFA) were launched on 22 May 2014.

In May 2021 the Federal Council decided to terminate the negotiations of the EU-Swiss IFA. The European Commission took note of this decision and expressed its regrets.

EU - Switzerland

EP Plenary session - EU-Switzerland relations

AFET - Votes on Turkiye, Belarus and Switzerland

42nd EU - Switzerland Interparliamentary meeting

AFET  Committee - Exchange of views with Maroš SEFCOVIC, Vice-President of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, on EU relations with Switzerland, and Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway

DEEA meeting - State of play of the EU-Switzerland relations

Roberta METSOLA, EP President, meets with the Presidents of the National Council and the Council of States of Switzerland, Irène KÄLIN and Thomas HEFTI

40th EU-Switzerland Interparliamentary meeting assembly

David SASSOLI, EP President meets with Ms Isabelle MORET member of the National Council of Switzerland and Mr Hans STOCKLI member of the Council of States of Switzerland (in remote)

38th EU-Switzerland Interparliamentary meeting assembly

Constituent meeting of the Delegation for Northern cooperation and for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee

37th EU-Switzerland Interparliamentary meeting

35th EU-SWITZERLAND Interparliamentary meeting

IMCO Public Hearing on ' EEA-Switzerland : Obstacles with regard to the full implementation of the internal market '

IMCO committee meeting. EEA-Switzerland: Obstacles with regard to full implementation of the internal market.

EU-Switzerland IPM

EP - Switzerland Interparliamentary Meeting.

Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, center, signs the visitor's golden book , in Bern, Switzerland, on Thursday 21, 2013. M. Schulz is on a two days visit to the Swiss Confederation for various meetings with Swiss officials.

Context view in the capital city of Switzerland, Bern, on Thursday 21, 2013

Delegation for Northern cooperation and for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee

DEEA

Delegation for Northern cooperation and for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European  Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committe

Delegation for Northern cooperation and for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area

40th EU - SWITZERLAND INTERPARLIAMENTARY MEETING

Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee

UNKN

Taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments: repealing the Savings Directive - EU-Switzerland agreement on the automatic exchange of financial account information - Mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation (debate)

EU-Switzerland relations (debate)

Martin SCHULZ - EP President - Hansjörg Walter - President of the National Council of Switzerland - and Hans Altherr - President of the Council of States of Switzerland

&lt;p>Roberta METSOLA, EP President, meets with the Presidents of the National Council and the Council of States of Switzerland, Irène Kälin and Thomas Hefti, in the EP in Strasbourg. Extracts from the welcome and roundtable.&lt;/p>

Roberta METSOLA, EP President, meets with the Presidents of the National Council and the Council of States of Switzerland, Irène Kälin and Thomas Hefti: welcome and roundtable

Meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on&nbsp;EU - Switzerland relations, during the EP Plenary session (13-16/02) in Strasbourg. Exchange of views with Jacques de WATTEVILLE, Swiss State Secretary and Christian LEFFLER, Deputy Secretary General for Economic and Global Issues (EEAS), Elmar BROK (EPP, DE),&nbsp; Ivo VAJGL (ALDE, SI), Cristian Dan PREDA (EPP, RO), and Andreas SCHWAB (EPP, DE).

EU-Switzerland relations: extracts from the exchange of views with Jacques de WATTEVILLE, Swiss State Secretary and Christian LEFFLER, EEAS Deputy Secretary-General

Meeting of the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA)&nbsp;on the Panama papers, in the EP in Brussels.&nbsp;Statements by Werner LANGEN, Chair TAXE Committee, Bastian OBERMAYER, S&uuml;ddeutsche Zeitung [based in Washington DC], Kristof CLERIX, Knack magazine, Belgium, Oliver ZIHLMANN, Sonntagszeitung | Le Matin Dimanche, Switzerland, Jan STROZYK, Norddeutscher Rundfunk/ NDR, Germany,&nbsp; Petr JEŽEK (ALDE, CZ), Co-rapporteur, and Julia STEIN, Norddeutscher Rundfunk/ NDR, Germany.

The Panama papers – Discussion with the investigative journalists behind the revelations: extracts from the Public Hearing at the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA)

The card provides free access to medical care during the temporary stay of EU citizens in a Member State as well as Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

European Card for Health Insurance

Kan medborgarinitiativet bli första steget mot deltagandedemokrati i schweizisk stil i EU? Ett reportage från Zürich.

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