Swiss to Drop Border Controls
 

This may be old news but I just read about it today. Switzerland will end border controls with its European Union neighbors by 2007, EU and Swiss leaders agreed in May of 2004 at a meeting in Brussels.

"Switzerland will end border controls with its European Union neighbors by 2007."

I think I'll stay neutral on this story.
((H))

That's good news. I was there in August on a hiking trip. I stayed in a border town on the Swiss side where everyone in my group walked freely across the border almost every day. We barely even noticed the border controls, as we were never questioned.

How about Swiss getting their heads out of the sand and joining the EU? Or the UN for that matter. Nato? Why not? NATO defends Europe, Switzerland thrown in so why not join? Actually i'd partition the country between France, Germany and Italy! Seems even Swiss from the four distinct lanugage areas have to use English to speak to each other in my experience there - very few Germans speak any French, etc. Maybe the 51st state?

..."by 2007..." Gee, why the big rush to change?

Hard to believe xenophobic Swiss will not check certain foreign looking types at border as many other members of the Schengen Accord do now - after all even after many years of residence 'guest' workers cannot become citizens - this has been codified in law i believe by popular referendum. At least us Causcasian Americans should breeze thru.

Just some corrections:

Whether the Swiss will join the Schengen Treaty or not will most likely be decided in a referendum. Although the Swiss government (Bundesrat) agreed to that, the decision is up to the Swiss people (unlike in other countries).

PalQ: The Swiss joined the UN. And I would prefer the EU would join Switzerland :)

Lingua franca in Switzerland is German, not English. But I know many, many Swiss speak at least two or three of the country's languages.

And I decide to be with maitaitom; at least stay neutral on the latest post of PalQ LOL!

I'm with Ingo on that! :-) (but that's no surprise)

PalQ:

You are simply a badly informed caucasian American with an arrogant way of formulating your ignorace.

In October 2003 I went from Stresa to Locarno by train, and from Locarno to Stresa by boat, and there were no border controls in either direction.