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The treaties, like all EU treaties, are deliberately designed to bind people to things they don't want to do by artificially tying them all together with a "gui

The treaties, like all EU treaties, are deliberately designed to bind people to things they don't want to do by artificially tying them all together with a "guillotine clause". There is no need for this type of thing - it's a pure power play. Switzerland is heading for what could be a potentially nasty constitutional crisis, if things go wrong. Parliament is legally bound to implement referendums because they work by adjusting the constitution. Swiss MPs are apparently more scared of the EU than they are of their own courts. This is not a sustainable situation for a democracy. Even if it doesn't blow up now, eventually it will. Switzerland will eventually go through its own "Swexit", due to a referendum that involves wishing to withdraw from one part of one agreement and the EU insisting that it withdraws from all of them simultaneously.

_delirium 10y ago
I sort of agree as regards the very general guillotine clause, but I don't think it would make a huge difference in this case, because the Swiss referendum hits at the core of the common market agreement. The common market is made up of a few things that all go together to attempt to produce an integrated economic zone: free movement of labor, equal treatment of foreign and domestic companies, regulatory harmonization, etc. If countries can choose to honor some parts and not others, then you end up with a very fragmented market that fails to achieve the objective. Maybe France passes labeling laws designed to exclude Danish dairy products, Switzerland decides to restrict free movement, Greece decides to tax foreign companies at a higher rate than domestic companies, etc., etc. So it makes sense to me that the treaties over the common market are written such that countries only retain membership as long as they continue to honor each of these factors.
- zigzigzag 10y ago
  Free trade deals outside of Europe never involve changes to visa policies, as far as I'm aware. This is not some sort of natural or unavoidable thing - it's the result of political choices. Very many other things are like that, such as the various courts that you have to agree to obey, agreeing to automatic implementation of laws created by the Commission, etc.
emp_zealoth 10y ago
>like all EU treaties, are deliberately designed to bind people to things they don't want to do by artificially tying them all together with a "guillotine clause". I'm sorry, what? You sign a bilateral agreement bringing you massive wealth and advantages then you try to avoid doing your part of the deal So EU is now evil because it will not take shit from a tiny country?

_delirium 10y ago

I sort of agree as regards the very general guillotine clause, but I don't think it would make a huge difference in this case, because the Swiss referendum hits at the core of the common market agreement. The common market is made up of a few things that all go together to attempt to produce an integrated economic zone: free movement of labor, equal treatment of foreign and domestic companies, regulatory harmonization, etc. If countries can choose to honor some parts and not others, then you end up with a very fragmented market that fails to achieve the objective. Maybe France passes labeling laws designed to exclude Danish dairy products, Switzerland decides to restrict free movement, Greece decides to tax foreign companies at a higher rate than domestic companies, etc., etc. So it makes sense to me that the treaties over the common market are written such that countries only retain membership as long as they continue to honor each of these factors.

zigzigzag 10y ago
Free trade deals outside of Europe never involve changes to visa policies, as far as I'm aware. This is not some sort of natural or unavoidable thing - it's the result of political choices. Very many other things are like that, such as the various courts that you have to agree to obey, agreeing to automatic implementation of laws created by the Commission, etc.

emp_zealoth 10y ago

>like all EU treaties, are deliberately designed to bind people to things they don't want to do by artificially tying them all together with a "guillotine clause". I'm sorry, what? You sign a bilateral agreement bringing you massive wealth and advantages then you try to avoid doing your part of the deal So EU is now evil because it will not take shit from a tiny country?