> not in a union with any other country

They contribute EU funds, they are in the Schengen borderless zone, they implement EU directives and regulations (without being able to veto them like members can), and they are part of the European free trade zone.

Sure, de jure they are not in the union. De facto that is just a nice fiction to satisfy the ultranationalists from the Swiss People's Party.

I feel like your comment is misleading. People who are military trained have guns - but no ammunition. Ammunition is harder to come by. People are psychologically evaluated before they join the military.

And the union thing - Switzerland is part of the economic area, officially, and observes a lot of treaties/agreements in exchange for the benefits they get. This is a point of contention in Swiss politics as some feel like Switzerland gets pushed around a lot.

Switzerland takes _great_ advantage of the other countries. People living near the border go to other countries to buy their stuff (france, germany, italy). Switzerland also has economy incentives for companies which work if small countries implement-it, but not all.

Switzerland is a exception, not the rule.

Switzerland is my example of the best case scenario for the UK if they leave.

A haven for corporations/money, a good government that cares about the people, still open borders, still free trade with the EU, no say in anything they do.

But that's if the UK manages it well - I don't see that happening, corps will just jump over to Ireland, NHS is under heavy pressure, tariffs are still high (not because of the EU, but in spite, just look at food prices), wages rather low...

It will do alright, but not better I think...

Open borders is why the Brexit people want to leave in the first place.

They're not going to want to leave just to do a EFTA/EEA type deal. Which means opening borders to the EU, adopting EU regulation, paying the EU and having no say within the EU all to get access to the single market.

I agree they'll be bitterly disappointed if they end up with an EEA type deal, but despite that they keep using Norway a an example of how you can manage well outside the EU. Ignoring that Norway is almost as integrated as the UK is - in some ways more (part of Schengen).

In the case of Brexit, I predict a rush from the pro-EU contingent in parliament to get an EEA style deal in place before the next elections.

The pro-EU contingent would certainly push for that but then the UK would be basically in the same situation they're in now. It's one thing not to have a voice within the EU in your imagination, it's a different thing really not to have one.

I think that what's really going to happen is that this will goes the same way all these independence movements go, they'll vote to remain in the end. It's one thing to imagine yourself as independent and I can see how it might be appealing but taking a step over the edge into the realm of uncertainty is not a comfortable or very human thing to do.

> The pro-EU contingent would certainly push for that but then the UK would be basically in the same situation they're in now.

And that's exactly why it is likely to push for it. And given that there's a solid pro-EU majority in parliament, it's likely that getting a deal as comprehensive as possible with the EU will be high priority, similar to how it was for Norway after the no vote in the referendum, where the EEA was used as a "consolation price" by the pro-EU parties.

They will argue that they have a strong mandate to do so, given that the Leave campaign have kept bringing up Norway as an example of how the UK can do fine outside the EU...

I do hope the UK votes to remain - I'm Norwegian, living in the UK. Though it won't affect me personally that much, as I qualify for leave to remain under at least three different categories. I agree with you that a good chunk of voters will end up voting remain even if they may be thinking of leaving now. The question is just if it will be enough.

There are so many more reasons to leave the EU than this one.

Switzerland has one the best quality of life indices. Just becoming as good as Switzerland would be a massive accomplishment.

There is more to quality of life than just number indices.

I have not spent enough time in Switzerland to form an opinion, but many people find Switzerland boring and overly strict/regulated - for example, if you take your trash to the dumpster after 8pm, you will be reported to the police by your neighbors.

Switzerland is part of the EFTA and has access to the EU's single market. They might not be part of the EU but to say that they're "not in a union with any other country" is just wrong and not even remotely close to the truth.

Switzerland is a very interesting country, but it only exists by virtue of the mountains surrounding it and historically, if those mountains had not been there Switzerland as we know it today would not exist.

What works in Switzerland my not necessarily work elsewhere.

On another note, the Swiss neutrality has caused them to end up on the wrong side of history in more than one occasion.

No that I know much of Swiss history, but according to that argument, Poland would be by now a footnote in European history, and thy seem to manage...

> Poland would be by now a footnote in European history, and thy seem to manage...

As much as I love Poland I would not consider them a candidate for the 'most prosperous' country in Europe, and I think that you'd agree with me given your choice of words.

Banking. From nazi art & gold looted from europe, to the modern place to store your ill gotten money, it's amazing how rich you can get when you look the other way and help the crooks.

In fact the Swiss just cancelled their application to join the EU...

It's part of the EU (yeah that surprised me too). Also, the guns are tied to military service ('well-regulated militia')

No it isn't, it's part of EFTA. It sits on the very edge of the EU but it's definitely outside; several hundred years of neutrality is hard to give up.

Switzerland is not part of the EU.