Switzerland and European union: Specifics of trade and investment relations

Abstract

The article studies specifics of trade and investment ties of Switzerland with EU countries. The author researches into the history of relations of Switzerland with EU, specifics of participation of this country in the process of European integration without membership in EU. The author pay attention on policy of neutrality and decentralization of Swiss economy and analyzes the special model of relations of two parties in the shape of bilateral or sectoral agreements as well as the factors determining main trends and periods of its development, profits and risks linked to Switzerland`s joining the EU, and the reasons standing in the way of conclusion of an institutional framework agreement with EU. The core argument is the Swiss reliance on direct democracy and bottom-up approach to governance as well as neutrality policy. The author underlines the factors of attractiveness of Switzerland for European partners first of all tied with competitiveness and diversity of the Swiss economy, it`s original niche character, export orientation, specialization on innovative sectors and development of clusters particular in biomedical technologies. On the basis of analysis and summarizing of statistics the author shows dynamics and specifics of trade and investment ties between Switzerland and the EU countries, merchandise structure of the foreign trade and importance of foreign investment as a key factor for economic growth in Switzerland. The author also assesses the role of multinational companies in Swiss economy as drives of its growth in the context of globalization and the impact on the number of jobs in Switzerland.