Letters to the Editor

New EU agreements: An unnecessary undertaking

There is no real economic need for the new Switzerland/EU agreements proposed by the Federal Council. This is evident from two interviews worth reading published in the NZZ, the first on 20 August 2025 with B. Zürcher, former Director of Labour at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and the second on 27 August 2025 with Professor T. Straumann of the University of Zurich. Straumann also points out that the loss of Swiss sovereignty associated with the new agreements would lead to poorer economic policy in our country in the long term, because a less decentralised, a less pragmatic and a less democratic approach could be taken. Both interviews, which go into considerable depth, also clearly express that rejection of the proposal would probably lead to punitive measures by the EU against our country. The latter is – to say the least – a critical observation with regard to the EU as a contractual partner; thus the agreement which is not plausible anyway becomes even more marginalised. Conclusion: In light of the negative expert assessments, approval of the new agreements is likely to remain limited and will mainly come from statists, those intimidated by fear-mongering propaganda, and other sceptical people. By contrast, it is to be hoped that the vast majority of our liberal-minded fellow citizens will reject the wholly inadequate treaty proposal so that Switzerland, with its strong democratic foundations, can continue to enjoy economic success.

Hanspeter Bornhauser, Bedano (TI), Switzerland

Can Switzerland bring peace to Europe?

French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed the Swiss city of Geneva as a venue for a possible meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, it is practically impossible to exploit one of the main advantages of neutrality – the establishment of peace through the organisation of peace negotiations. Neutral states as venues for peace negotiations must not be seen as opponents or threats by the parties to the conflict. And because of the people who view neutrality as dispirited passivity, we are no longer neutral in this conflict. Switzerland is tightening and expanding sanctions against Russia, which means it is participating in the conflict. Neutrality is taken seriously when the government actually adheres to neutrality and consistently uses it for peace-making measures. For it is precisely in times of serious political crises of confidence that warring parties have an interest in states that offer them ways out of dangerous stalemates. Neutrality is part of Switzerland’s identity. We have a special responsibility for peace. The whole world still remembers this, but we ourselves should not forget it.

Dieter Jäger, Aargau, Switzerland