Articles
Author: F. Govaerts
Switzerland's attitude towards the EEC is typical of the new foreign policy adopted by that country in 1947 under the heading «Neutrality and Solidarity».
A number of centrifugal factors (the EEC is regarded as the centre or the pole of attraction) have kept Switzerland out of the EEC, although many other factors, economic and commercial in particular, but also
ideological, cultural, politica! and geographical ones tend towards closer ties with the EEC, and have acted as «centripetal» farces. The main «centrifugal» factors were: Swiss neutrality, the federal system and direct democracy, certain economic elements such as the fiscal and agricultural systems, and especially psychological factors including attitudes and ideas concerning the EEC and the consequences of membership.
Moreover, timely corrections and adaptations in the international commercial field (EFTA membership, advantages gained from the Kennedy Round, the 1972 Free Trade Agreement with the enlarged EEC) have
reduced the necessity to seek a closer relationship with the Community.
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How to Cite: Govaerts, F. (1977) “Zwitserland en de Europese Ekonomische Gemeenschap (1958-1972) : Een case-study inzake Europese integratie”, Res Publica. 19(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/rp.v19i1.19485