Did we vote last weekend on a "passport-free Schengen zone"? Didn't Swiss cabinet ministers tell us that "nothing will change on the border"? Wasn't it the Swiss diplomats that to the surprise of the EU insisted on including a Schengen accord in the second round of bilateral agreements and isn't it funny how it now comes back to bite them by threatening to bring down the entire bilateral agreements already in effect since 2002? :-)
I think the various pre and post vote statements from pretty much all sides are just playing out hilariously. Swiss-EU relations are quickly becoming reduced to a rather complex oxymoronic comedy.
As a result, it is already clear that it is only a question of time until the entire bilateral agreements (both I and II) between Switzerland and the European Union will have to be renegotiated.
Most recent related coverage by swissinfo :
> Swiss unimpressed by EU interference
> EU stands firm on bilateral accords
> EU attaches strings to Schengen accord
> Swiss were seduced by "criminal Europe"
Some highlights from Schengen related articles published by the Forum für direkte Demokratie (in german) :
> Epiney Astrid, "Schengen": Ein neuer Prüfstein für die Schweiz, in: Plädoyer 1/05 |
> SPS - immer noch "EU über alles!" |
09.06.2005, 13:39