[Culturechat] Switzerland and the EU
The Swiss Team
cathrin.baumbach@untours.com
Tue, 06 Nov 2001 15:02:09 -0500
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Switzerland and the European Union. Why isn't she part of it?
I heard a very captivating lecture entitled "Europe and the 21st century --
one state or many" last week at the University of Pennsylvania. The
lecturer, Jonathan Steinberg, Ph.D. (who also wrote "Why Switzerland?",
Cambridge University Press, 1976) is definitely an expert on and fan of
Switzerland.
I always thought that the reasons for Switzerland's staying out of the EU
were mainly economic (they heavily subsidize those pretty cows). He,
however, mentioned that any country joining the EU had to adopt a package
of some 1600 laws. Switzerland, being the extremely democratic country it
is, puts up issues for discussion amongst its citizens in numerous
referendums each year and therefore could never adopt a package of laws
written in stone (Having spent most of my life in former East Germany, I
find this quite remarkable).
So, it actually seems to the tourist's advantage that Switzerland is not
part of the EU. Or would you still go if all the small dairy farmers with
their handful of cows had disappeared from the Alps?
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<u>Switzerland and the European Union. Why isn't she part of it?<br>
<br>
</u>I heard a very captivating lecture entitled "Europe and the 21st
century -- one state or many" last week at the University of
Pennsylvania. The lecturer, Jonathan Steinberg, Ph.D. (who also wrote
"Why Switzerland?", Cambridge University Press, 1976) is
definitely an expert on and fan of Switzerland. <br>
I always thought that the reasons for Switzerland's staying out of the EU
were mainly economic (they heavily subsidize those pretty cows). He,
however, mentioned that any country joining the EU had to adopt a package
of some 1600 laws. Switzerland, being the extremely democratic
country it is, puts up issues for discussion amongst its citizens in
numerous referendums each year and therefore could never adopt a package
of laws written in stone (Having spent most of my life in former East
Germany, I find this quite remarkable).<br>
So, it actually seems to the tourist's advantage that Switzerland is not
part of the EU. Or would you still go if all the small dairy farmers with
their handful of cows had disappeared from the Alps? <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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<div>Untours - Independent Travel With Support!</div>
<div>Tel.: 888-UNTOUR-1 Web:
<<a href="http://www.untours.com/" EUDORA=AUTOURL>www.untours.com</a>></div>
<br>
<div>Join IdyllChat, an email discussion group on European
travel!</div>
<div>Visit:
<<a href="http://www.untours.com/idyllchat/" EUDORA=AUTOURL>www.untours.com/idyllchat/</a>></div>
<br>
<div>"Most Generous Company in America, 1999" awarded by
Newman's</div>
<div>Own & George magazine. For information on the Idyll
Development</div>
<div>Foundation, visit:
<<a href="http://www.untours.com/idf" EUDORA=AUTOURL>www.untours.com/idf</a>></div>
</html>
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