The EU-Swiss Sectoral Approach Under Pressure: Not Least Because of Brexit

The Swiss model in the context of Brexit: from side-street to dead-end?

“…The agreements on air transport and free movement of persons also include a reference to relevant CJEU Case Law and the respective joint committees can decide on the inclusion of subsequent case law (Lazowski, 2006, p. 168). Meanwhile, Swiss Courts still diverge on whether they are under an obligation to take over further developments of the EU acquis or not (Tobler, 2021).…”

Beyond Downloading: Venues for Associated Neighbouring Countries to Influence EU Law and Policies

“…There are more institutional opportunities for the EFTA countries to shape rules compared to other, less far‐reaching associations that rely more on legislative approximation and equivalence of laws than on an adoption of acquis . In fact, the EU had made further sectoral agreements with Switzerland conditional on a dynamic institutional framework agreement, rendering governance more ‘EEA‐like’, but the Swiss government did not sign the draft treaty negotiated in late 2018 (Tobler, 2021). The DCFTAs commit Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to legislative approximation with varying degrees of obligation, procedures to amend incorporated rules and forms of dispute settlement.…”

“…A consistent implementation of the initiative would have led to the termination of the agreement on the free movement of persons and some of the other bilateral agreements with the EU (‘guillotine clause’). With a great deal of creativity, the government has succeeded in finding a domestic implementation of the initiative that is compatible with the agreement (Tobler, 2021, pp. 119–22).…”