Meanwhile, the EU’s other showdown with a democratic European state is going badly wrong. The Swiss are holding out against the hegemony of the European Court and an attempt to gut their national sovereignty.
Switzerland is facing an excruciating squeeze. Its old bilateral accords with the EU are no longer deemed acceptable. Brussels wants to shut down the idiosyncratic “Swiss model” once and for all.
The country has until the end of June to submit to the EU’s new framework agreement, or see its trading and financial access progressively cut off.
“They were given a six-month ultimatum in December,” said Pieter Cleppe from Open Europe in Brussels. “If the EU carries out its threat, Switzerland.
