Switzerland and the EU - where to now?

The plan of Scherer and Ambühl includes three steps to further develop Switzerland's relationship with the EU. Following the termination of negotiations for a framework agreement, researchers outline a three-stage plan for the further development of a constructive partnership between Switzerland and the European Union. More than two months after the Federal Council's decision to break off negotiations on the framework agreement, little has been heard about Switzerland's future relations with the European Union. Despite the EU Commission's decision to treat Switzerland as a non-associated third country in the EU funding programmes for research and innovation (see ETH News from 14 July 2021 ), almost no one is talking about what happens next. This summer silence has now been broken by two researchers. In a new contribution to the discussion, ETH professor Michael Ambühl and postdoc researcher Daniela Scherer from the Chair of Negotiation and Conflict Management highlight the options that are most likely to succeed from a negotiation theory perspective. "We've drawn up a three-stage plan for how the partnership between Switzerland and the EU could develop after negotiations were abandoned in May," explains Ambühl.