Relations between the EU and Switzerland are in limbo, caught between Euroscepticism and pragmatism. Swiss disagreement on the signing of the Institutional Agreement blocks the way forward. At the same time, there is no majority in favour of a rollback of bilateralism. What explains the stalemate and how could it be overcome?
TEPSA, in cooperation with the Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS) from ETH Zürich, organised an online discussion on EU-Swiss relations and Euroscepticism. Here, we are pleased to present the full video recording of the teleconference.
The event took place via Zoom on Tuesday 19 May from 11:00 to 12:30 and featured presentations by the following experts:
- Frank Schimmelfennig, Professor of European Politics, ETH Zürich.
- Stefanie Walter, Director Center of Comparative and International Studies of the University and ETH Zürich.
- Christa Markwalder, National Councillor, FDP. The Liberals.
- Paul Schmidt, Secretary General, Austrian Society for European Politics.
- Moderator: Niklaus Nuspliger, former EU correspondent to NZZ.
BACKGROUND
This discussion took place in the framework of the presentation of the TEPSA book “Euroscepticism and the Future of Europe: Views from the Capitals”, edited by Michael Kaeding, Johannes Pollak and Paul Schmidt. This book sheds light on how the increasing prominence of Eurosceptic and nationalist parties is having an impact on the thinking of mainstream parties, their representatives in the European Parliament, and the future of Europe. The book provides perspectives on the future of the European project from authors in all the EU Member States, as well as neighboring European countries and potential applicant nations.
