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To no one's great surprise, Switzerland has decided to maintain its neutrality. As a European country that has elected to remain outside the EU, its political policy on the continent is based on 120 bilateral agreements signed with individual member states. Even if these texts are often daunting and excessive in their wording, the Swiss government maintains that they guarantee "the country's interests".
The Swiss Confederation is not the only European country to avoid the sport of putting all of one's eggs into a single basket. To the north, Norway, which has since 1992 been a part of the European Economic Area (the EEA, composed of the 27 member states plus Liechtenstein and Iceland), holds on to its cherished independence, while adopting nearly all European community directives. Sweden has refused to adopt the euro, but certain rebel Swedish cities in fact freely use it. The United Kingdom plays both sides of the European membership question with disconcerting ease: "I am part of the Union, but I don't want its single currency, which doesn't mean that I can't have my say." In short, for many countries it is a case of "I love you, but marrying you is out of the question".
Membership in the Union is not - and must not become - obligatory, but it doesn't seem to have the same meaning for members and their neighbours: there are those who swear by the Union, those who take it half-seriously, and those who reap some benefits by association... the list of variations is long.
Instead of following the example of Norway, which is, in the words of editor Eva-Lie Nielssen, a "clandestine passenger in the EU, but with a business class seat", wouldn't it be better to acknowledge this state of affairs and propose a series of options for limited membership in the Union, such as the adoption of its single currency? It would be like riding in the same train, but not necessarily in the same car, and perhaps not even in the same class. And countries could simply choose the dishes they prefer from the European menu. Iulia Badea Guéritée
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