Rene Schwok

The first study in English on the subject, this volume explores the challenges facing Switzerland as the European Community (EC) moves toward the 1992 goal of a Europe without economic borders. The primary question addressed by the author is whether or not Switzerland can ultimately avoid becoming a full-fledged member of the EC. Rene Schwok fully explores the alternatives open to Switzerland, including marginalization and a Third Way between membership and marginalization, comparing the benefits and risks presented by each option. He examines the political and economic implications of full membership within the EC and analyzes Community rules and laws that are particularly relevant to Switzerland. Throughout, Schwok is careful to present a multifaceted approach which reflects both the economic and political issues confronted by Switzerland as the country struggles to reach a policy consensus regarding the EC.Schwok begins by exposing the source of Switzerland's current problem--the acceleration of the community integration process. He then analyzes the EC's attitude toward Switzerland and evaluates the role played by the European Free Trade Association, paying special attention to efforts to establish a European Economic Space. By comparing the situation of Austria--which has exhibited much more interest in becoming a member of the EC--with that of Switzerland, Schwok sheds new light on Switzerland's reluctance to join. In discussing the effects of the European Internal Market on Switzerland, Schwok reveals the risks of marginalization should Switzerland decide not to join. He goes on to examine the Swiss government's proposed third option, analyzing both its prospects for success and its implications for the Swiss population. Finally, Schwok treats the long-term consequences of this option, asking whether it will allow sufficient proximity to the Internal Market to enable Switzerland to avoid membership or, on the contrary, serve only to pave the way for eventual membership in the EC. Students of international relations and European economics will find Schwok's work a well-reasoned and comprehensive study of Switzerland's choices as Europe approaches 1992.

Relations between the European Community and the United States are taking on a new momentum. Are we heading towards a period of greater US-EC co-operation, or will the rapidly changing economic structure in Europe lead to possible conflicts across the Atlantic? This book offers an analysis of the economic implications of the current European Commu

Relations between the European Community and the United States are taking on a new momentum. Are we heading towards a period of greater US-EC co-operation, or will the rapidly changing economic structure in Europe lead to possible conflicts across the Atlantic? This book offers an analysis of the economic implications of the current European Commu

Supporters of European integration have always argued that it has brought peace. Yet no scientific study has ever developed a critical approach to such a claim. To remedy this surprising deficiency, the author builds a typology that will help to distinguish the two main opposing approaches to this question: that of the Europeanists and that of the Eurosceptics. The dialectical confrontation between these two approaches is the red thread of the book. Taken up in each of the chapters, it provides a synthetic point of view aimed at overcoming this opposition. The author shows that the contribution of the European construction to peace lies in the nuances, thus distinguishing itself from the irenical slogans of the Europeanists while dismantling the arguments of the Eurosceptics. He concludes that the EU will never be able to prevent extremist and belligerent tendencies among the European states and/or peoples. It can, however, limit the damage those tendencies could cause through the rules and institutions which the Member States have committed to respecting.

This study explains in an accessible manner the key elements of the relationship between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union. The author begins by summarizing the main steps in this special and evolving relationship which has long oscillated between membership and marginalization. He also guides us expertly through the thickets of referendums (no fewer than fourteen from 1972 to the time of writing ) in which Swiss citizens have been given the opportunity to pass judgment on the European question. Finally and perhaps most importantly, this volume explains why the Swiss still oppose joining the European Union. It examines the thorny questions of identity, reservations on policy matters (preserving neutrality, direct democracy and Swiss style federalism), not to mention doubts regarding the economy, which have done so much to shape public opinion and the official strategy of the Swiss Confederation. Paradoxically, the closer Switzerland gets to the EU through bilateral agreements, the more distant prospects of joining the EU seem to become. This is the conundrum at the heart of the relationship between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union which is expertly explored in this volume.