Swiss Foreign Policy, Neutrality, International Organisations and Bilateral Relations
What this domain tests
You should be able to define neutrality correctly, name the organisations Switzerland belongs to and does not belong to, and explain the bilateral approach to the EU including its current state.
Neutrality
Neutrality is a permanent, armed neutrality recognised under international law, though not spelled out as a rule in the Federal Constitution. It obliges Switzerland not to take part in wars, not to join military alliances, not to allow troop transit and to treat belligerents equally. It is not moral neutrality: Switzerland takes positions, adopts UN sanctions and offers good offices and humanitarian protection mandates. Swiss membership of the UN since 2002 and the temporary Security Council seat in 2023–24 are compatible with neutrality.
Organisations
- Member: UN (since 2002, approved by referendum), Council of Europe (1963), EFTA (1960), WTO, OECD, OSCE, IMF and World Bank (1992).
- Not a member: NATO and the EU. The EEA was rejected in the referendum of 6 December 1992.
- Host state: Geneva hosts the UN's European headquarters, the ICRC and the WTO; Basel hosts the Bank for International Settlements. Historically Switzerland joined the League of Nations in 1920, with Geneva as its seat.
Relations with the EU
The bilateral route replaced EEA membership: Bilateral Agreements I (1999, in force 2002) and II (2004), with Schengen/Dublin association operational since 2008. After the framework agreement was abandoned in 2021, a new negotiating package was concluded at the end of 2024 and now enters the domestic ratification process. Bilateral treaties also govern double taxation and social security for cross-border commuters.
Worked example
Switzerland adopts EU sanctions against a third country; a voter claims this breaches neutrality. Reasoning: neutrality law governs conduct in an armed conflict, not economic measures taken in peacetime. Adopting sanctions is a foreign-policy decision by the Federal Council, based on a federal ordinance, aimed at upholding international law and preventing Switzerland from being used to circumvent measures. Neutrality would only be at issue if Switzerland allowed its territory to be used militarily by a belligerent.
Traps that cost marks
Do not claim Switzerland is in the EU or the EEA. Do not say neutrality is written into the Constitution as a detailed code. Do not confuse the UN (2002) with the League of Nations (1920).