Letter: Europe’s single market: UK and Swiss views | Popgen Tech

A Swiss-style association “to make Brexit work higher for enterprise” is talked about by Robert Shrimsley in his column “Brexit break up is between zealots and pragmatists” (Opinion, November 24).

Certainly, each international locations have two issues in frequent – the intention to realize a foothold within the European single market (UK), or to not lose one (Switzerland).

And each carry a historic burden that stands in the way in which – Britain has its legacy of imperial grandeur, Switzerland its hallowed neutrality as identified by Constanze Stelzenmüller in “Ukraine disaster may rework way forward for neutrality” (Opinion, November 23) .

However that is the place the deal ends. Bern’s long-standing observe of mechanically adopting single market guidelines will hardly be acceptable to the UK the place alignment with EU guidelines, along with accepting the European Courtroom of Justice’s function in deciphering these guidelines, is a “no-go” for the ruling Brexiters are.

The latter’s third bug, migration, is seen in another way by Schengen member Switzerland.

Each international locations know that their paths to future prosperity can not bypass the only market, and each must discover their place in a Europe coming collectively within the wake of the Zeitenwende – a turning level in historical past, watershed, epochal shift in world geopolitics – of the conflict in Ukraine.

Daniel Walker
Co-founder, Share-a-ambassador
Former Swiss Ambassador (Kuwait, Singapore, Australia)
Gunten, Switzerland