Text Project Part 4

Joining the EU would be disadvantageous for Switzerland in many ways.

by Birgit Spalt, Bianca Stadler, Christine Hartinger

FINAL VERSION:

Experts from various fields argue that joining the EU would be disadvantageous for Switzerland in many ways. This issue has been discussed frequently within the country and throughout Europe. Considering all the problems the European Union has to face at the moment, it seems obvious that an economy as strong as Switzerland’s would only suffer from a membership. Switzerland would have to share its capital, it would have to support the weak economies in Europe financially and it would have less capital for its own needs. Thus most specialists agree that Switzerland would lose a considerable proportion of its wealth and its international status as a safe haven for investors should it ever join the EU. In addition to this, Switzerland would lose its system of direct democracy. Of course the EU would be pleased if Switzerland became a member as the Union would benefit from the country’s membership in many ways. The Swiss are aware of the many different ways in which Switzerland would suffer from this membership and therefore have repeatedly voted against joining the EU.

Despite the fact that Switzerland is such a small country surrounded by countries much richer in resources such as Italy, France and Germany, it is the wealthiest state in the world. According to the findings of a new study by Credit Suisse, the average per capita income amounts to $513,000. This “Swiss miracle” has mostly historical and political origins. Switzerland’s much-praised neutrality spared its citizens the suffering and costs of World War I and World War II. Instead of feeling threatened by its larger neighboring countries, Switzerland has always known how to take advantage of their economic powers. While Germany is its most important trading partner, the Swiss also maintain successful trade relations with the EU. Among their economic achievements are the Free Trade Agreement of 1972 and two Bilateral Agreements, one in 1999 and the other in 2004. One reason for Switzerland’s staggering wealth also lies in the number of highly qualified immigrants drawn to the country’s stable economy ever since the Reformation.

By virtue of the positive relations between Switzerland and the EU, the former already benefits from the latter without being a member. An example of these benefits is the free movement of people, goods, services and capital due to the Schengen treaty. Despite all these treaties, Switzerland is able to guard its sovereignty and liberty, which it would lose if it joined the EU. The act of becoming an EU member is almost impossible to revoke, whereas contracts and treaties can be terminated more easily. One major argument against a membership is that, as a member state, Switzerland would have to implement the laws, regulations and decisions made in Brussels. This would eventually lead to the end of the Swiss’ system of direct democracy that currently ensures that citizens are involved in the decision-making process. Politicians cannot make any major decision without citizens’ approval via referendum. This is a crucial factor which establishes and secures solidarity within the various cultures, religions and languages existing in Switzerland. If the Swiss were deprived of this direct democracy, it would only be a matter of time before frustration would be expressed. This system, combined with financial federalism, also has an impact on the country’s economy, since the decisions concerning taxes and public expenditure are under the citizens’ control. Therefore, membership would lead to a weaker economy. Another issue that would harm the wealth of the country is that it would have to help to rescue countries facing an economic crisis, such as Greece and Italy. As long as Switzerland can benefit from the EU without participating in the Union, there is no need for the country to seek membership.

It is clear, considering all these arguments, that joining the EU would have mostly negative effects on Switzerland. The country itself would lose its independence and its high esteem on an international basis, while its citizens would lose their rights in the decision-making process. This would lead to their wishes being ignored by the government just as in many other countries. To aggravate the situation, a considerable amount of Swiss capital would be allocated to bankrupt countries such as Greece, Italy or Spain. This money could no longer be used to meet Switzerland’s own needs and would be lacking in the social system. Clearly, it is more profitable for the economy, as well as for the citizens, if Switzerland remains an independent trading partner of the EU instead of becoming a member state.


[751 words]

Second Version:

Experts from various fields argue that joining the EU would be disadvantageous for Switzerland in many ways. This issue has continually been discussed within the country and all over Europe. Considering all the problems the European Union has to face at the moment it seems obvious that an economy as strong as Switzerland’s would only suffer from a membership. Switzerland would have to share its capital, it would have to support all the weak economies in Europe financially and it would have less capital for its own needs. Thus most specialists agree that Switzerland would lose its wealth and its international status as a safe haven for investors should it ever join the EU. In addition to this, Switzerland would lose its system of direct democracy. Of course the EU itself would appreciate it if Switzerland became a member as the Union would benefit from the country’s participation in many ways. The Swiss are well aware of the many different ways in which Switzerland would detract from this membership and therefore repeatedly voted against joining the EU.

Despite the fact that Switzerland is such a small country surrounded by countries much richer in resources such as Italy, France and Germany, Switzerland is the wealthiest state in the world. According to the findings of a new study by Credit Suisse, the average per capita income amounts to $513,000. The “Swiss miracle” has mostly historical and political reasons. Switzerland’s much-praised neutrality has spared its citizens the suffering from World War I and World War II. Therefore, they were also exempt from reconstruction costs and huge reparation payments. Instead of feeling threatened by its larger neighboring countries, Switzerland has always known how to take advantage of their economic powers. Although Germany is its most important trading partner, the Swiss also maintain successful trade relations with the EU. They are able to count the Free Trade Agreement of 1972 and two Bilateral Agreements, one in 1999 and the other in 2004, to their economic achievements. Another reason for Switzerland’s staggering wealth lies in the number of highly qualified immigrants feeling drawn to the country’s stable economy ever since the Reformation.

By virtue of the numerous treaties with the EU and the advantages deriving from these agreements, Switzerland is not in need of becoming a member state of the European Union. An example of these benefits is the free movement of people, goods, services and capital due to the Schengen treaty. Additionally, despite all these treaties, the Alpine country is able to guard its sovereignty and liberty which it would lose in case of an EU membership. It is evident that the act of becoming an EU member is almost impossible to revoke, whereas contracts and treaties can be terminated more easily. One major argument against a membership is that, as a member state, Switzerland would have to implement the laws, regulations and decisions made in Brussels. This would eventually lead to the end of the Swiss’ system of direct democracy that currently ensures involving the citizens in the decision-making process. The politicians can not make any major decision without the citizens’ approval via referendum. This is a crucial factor which establishes and secures solidarity within the various cultures, religions and languages existing in Switzerland. If the Swiss were deprived of this direct democracy due to an EU membership, it would only be a matter of time before frustration and anger would occur. Further, this system combined with the financial federalism also has an impact on the country’s economy. Since the Swiss voted in favor of high taxes, an internal tax competition is generated that keeps all taxes under the citizens’ control and limits public expenditure. Therefore, a membership would lead to a weaker economy. Another issue that would harm the wealth of the country is that it would have to participate in rescuing countries that face an economic crisis such as Greece and Italy. As long as the Switzerland can benefit from the EU without participating in the Union, there is no need for the Alpine country to seek membership.

It is clear, considering all these arguments, that joining the EU would have merely negative effects on the Alpine country. The country itself would lose its independency and its high esteem on an international basis, while its citizens would be deprived of their competences in the decision-making process. This would lead to their wishes being ignored by the government just as in many other countries. To aggravate things, a considerable amount of Swiss capital would be allocated to bankrupt countries such as Greece, Italy or Spain. This money could no longer be used to meet Switzerland’s own needs and would be missing in the social system. Clearly, it is more profitable for the economy, just as for the citizens, if Switzerland remains an independent trading partner of the EU instead of becoming a member state.

[811 words]

First Version:

The issue of whether or not Switzerland should join the EU has been discussed all over Europe for a very long time. This essay will discuss why joining the EU would be disadvantageous for Switzerland. Considering all the problems the European Union has to face at the moment it seems obvious that an economy as strong as Switzerland would only suffer from a membership. Switzerland would have to share its wealth, it would have to support all the weak economies in Europe financially and it would have less for its own needs. Thus most specialists agree that Switzerland would lose its wealth and its global status should it ever join the EU. In addition to this, Switzerland would also lose its system of direct democracy. Of course the EU itself would be delighted if Switzerland became a member as it would benefit from Switzerland’s participation in many ways. This paper will present the many different ways in which Switzerland would detract from this membership.

Despite the fact that Switzerland is such a small country surrounded by countries much richer in resources such as Italy, France and Germany, Switzerland is once again the wealthiest state in the world. According to the findings of a new study by Credit Suisse, the average per capita income amounts to $513,000. The “Swiss miracle” has mostly historical and political reasons. Switzerland’s much-praised neutrality has spared its citizens the suffering of World War I and World War II. Therefore, they were also exempt from reconstruction costs and huge reparation payments, in the way for example Austria had to. Instead of feeling threatened by its big neighbor countries, Switzerland has always known how to take advantage of their economic powers. While Germany for instance is not only its most important trading partner, the Swiss also maintain successful trade relations with the EU, being able to cite the Free Trade Agreement of 1972 and two Bilateral Agreements, one in 1999 and the other in 2004, to their economic achievements. Another reason for Switzerland’s staggering wealth lies in the number of highly qualified immigrants feeling drawn to the country’s stable economy ever since the Reformation.

Although the economic crisis also affected Switzerland, the country suffered less than most of the EU countries. The Swiss are not in need of becoming an EU member state since there are many advantages deriving from the numerous treaties and contracts between Switzerland and the EU such as the free movement of people, goods, services and capital. Additionally, despite all these treaties, the Alpine country is able to guard its sovereignty and liberty which it would lose in case of an EU membership. It is evident that the act of becoming an EU member is hard to revoke, whereas contracts and treaties can be more easily terminated. One major argument against a membership is that it would lead to a weaker economy, as Switzerland would have to participate in rescuing countries that face an economic crisis such as Greece and Italy. As a member state it would also have to implement the regulations and decisions of the EU as well as accept most of the decisions made in Brussels. It is evident that this would eventually lead to the end of the Swiss’ system of direct democracy. This system currently ensures democracy by involving the Swiss in the decision making concerning laws, constitutional proposals and international treaties. The Alpine country’s politicians have also always valued the public opinion, something the Swiss really appreciate. They are even in favor of high taxes: Direct democracy and financial federalism lead to internal tax competition – which, in turn, keeps all taxes under the citizens’ control and consequently limits public expenditure.Almost no major decision can be made by any politician without the citizens deciding via referendum. This is one essential factor that is needed to establish solidarity within the different cultures, religions and languages existing in Switzerland. If the Swiss were deprived of this direct democracy due to an EU membership, it would only be a matter of time before frustration and anger within the citizens would occur.

It is clear, considering all these arguments, that joining the EU would have merely negative effects on the Alpine country. In addition to losing its independency and its high esteem on an international basis, its inhabitants would soon grow unhappy as they would lose a great deal of their competences in the decision-making process. This would lead to their wishes being ignored by the government just as in many other countries. To make things worse, a considerable amount of Swiss capital would be awarded to bankrupt countries such as Greece, Italy or Spain. This money could no longer be used to meet Switzerland’s own needs and would be missing in the social system. As you can see, there are barely any advantages for Switzerland if it was to join the EU. The economy, just as the citizens, is more fortunate on its own.

[822 words]

Feedback:

1. too much information in the introduction
   We actually thought that all the information is relevant and therefore did not make many changes. 
2. very good register
   Thank you! :)
3. sometimes redundand (word repition,...)
   We realised that ourselves and tried to avoid repetition.
4. 3rd paragraph -> topic sentence didn't fit
   We totally agreed and changed it.
5. not enough arguments in the 3rd paragraph
6. 2nd paragraph too long and detailed
   We transferred one part of the 2nd paragraph to the third one.

Topic/Concluding sentence:

We tried to focus on good topic and concluding sentences and made sure that they are well-linked.