No to the European Economic Area

All of Switzerland

Key figures: Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, René Felber, Franz Blankart, Christoph Blocher

Further reading: European Economic Area (Wikipedia)

On 6 December 1992 Switzerland voted on joining the European Economic Area, the common market between the European Community and the EFTA countries. With a record turnout of 78 per cent, 50.3 per cent of voters and a majority of the cantons said no. French-speaking Switzerland voted yes, most of German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino voted no.

A campaign that divided the country. The Federal Council, with Jean-Pascal Delamuraz at the economy and René Felber at foreign affairs, had negotiated the agreement, with State Secretary Franz Blankart as chief negotiator, and in May 1992 had even applied to join the European Community. Against it stood Christoph Blocher, with the Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland. On the evening of the vote Delamuraz spoke of a «black Sunday». The map of the results shows the «Röstigraben», the divide between French-speaking Switzerland, which voted yes together with the two cantons of Basel, and the rest of the country.

Since then Switzerland has governed its relations with the European Union through bilateral agreements, approved by popular vote in 2000 and 2005, which among other things opened the free movement of persons and membership of Schengen.