Published on 16 January 2025

Bilateral agreements I (1999)

Participation in the EEA would have put Switzerland on the road to full economic integration and thus given it access to the European internal market on an equal footing with EU member states. When the electorate rejected EEA membership, the Federal Council decided to launch negotiations with the EU on a sector-by-sector basis to ensure that Swiss companies would not be at a disadvantage in key economic sectors.