Twenty years ago Switzerland held a referendum to decide whether or not to join the European Economic Area (EEA), a mechanism for adhesion to the European Union without formal integration. 50.3 per cent of Swiss voters said no. The negative response did not impede Switzerland from starting a rather intense bilateral and sectoral approach in its European policy. In 1999, a bilateral treaty package was signed, addressing a wide range of matters such as opening up markets, free movement of people, technical barriers to trade, public markets, agriculture, air, road and rail transport, and research. A second set of agreements was entered into in 2004 and extended to cooperation and political questions (internal security, asylum, environment and culture), the Schengen/Dublin Accords, savings tax, processed agricultural products, media, environment, statistics, fraud, pensions, education, and professional training. A third set of agreements is, at the moment in which this reviewer is writing (in the early months of 2013), on the way, but negotiations are currently facing an impasse. The EU is not only demanding that Switzerland adopts EU law but also wants joint supervisory bodies and jurisdiction over the implementation of the bilateral accords. Needless to say, Switzerland opposes measures which would force it to automatically adjust to developments in EU law, seeing this as an attack on its sovereignty.

Against this background, the book under review is a good opportunity to know and understand the institutional and legal relations between the EU and Switzerland. Edited by Professor Massimo Condinanzi, the book amasses fifteen essays written in Italian by Italian scholars, with the only exception of an essay written in French by a Swiss scholar. It can be divided into five thematic parts. After an introduction by Condinanzi, the first Part is dedicated to institutional aspects. The first essay, written by Professor Bruno Nascimbene, provides an overview of the agreements between the EU and Switzerland, with a particular attention to the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice. The second essay is dedicated to implementation procedures and particular attention is given to the role played by domestic courts and administrative bodies.

The second Part, containing three essays, is focused on the free movement of people. Worth mentioning here is Alessia di Pascale’s essay on the relations between the EU and Switzerland in the area of immigration and asylum. The author recalls that Switzerland has signed with the EU an agreement concerning the implementation and development of the acquis of Schengen, and that, as a consequence, it also participates in Frontex, the EU Agency dealing with EU borders. The following third Part deals with fundamenal rights and non discrimination. 

Part four is focused on judicial and administrative cooperation. Ilaria Anrò provides an overview of the European or international agreements to be taken into account when dealing with the recognition of civil and commercial judgments involving Switzerland. Two other chapters focus on criminal law cooperation and increasing participation in EU agencies, respectively. The last Part of the book analyses some classic areas of cooperation between the EU and Switzerland. Stefano Bastianon and Patrick Marco Ferrari review the rather limited forms of cooperation between the EU and Switzerland in the field of competition. Interestingly, they also discuss the general draft agreement which is still under negotiation. The other remaining chapters focus on transport, fiscal matters, public procurement and liberalization of postal services, respectively.    

The essays are all very informative. Overall, the book proves to be a useful text for didactical purposes on the relationships between Switzerland and the EU as well as for practitioners involved with issues relating to it.

Riccardo Sciaudone

Head