How the Swiss Confederal Model could be applied to a United Europe: Jacques Neirynck at TEDxZurich
[Music] [Applause] [Music] I think we should stop asking what Europe can do for Switzerland what shall be the benefit and the cost for us and instead we should start considering seriously what Switzerland can do to help the construction of Europe indeed if Europe fails Switzerland will not be preserved from collateral damages the European Union was formed after the second world war to avoid further fights between France and Germany while this aim has been reached the logic of a rising federalization is clogged the European Union does not enjoy the appropriate culture which is now natural for Switzerland because it has been slowly constructed during seven centuries this experience or experience cannot be replaced by law making improvisation and we should first convince the Swiss people that we cannot stay indefinitely in the present state of denial and secondly I'm going to show how we could support the construction of Europe presently Switzerland as a mechanical result of direct democracy as chosen to behave in many respects as if it were an Island located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean a sort of virtual New Zealand it's impossible to be a wealthy and stable country in the middle of a broke and divided continent so why why should we enter into Europe first argument we deceive ourselves about the real Independence of the country the best example is the Euro Switzerland could not accept a fluctuating exchange rate of Euro versus Frank and the only solution was linking the Frank to the euro although we are outside the union we are more dependent than England or Sweden that are inside second argument the economic interest of Switzerland points to the entrance into the EUR European Union I'll take just one example believe it or not it is less expensive to extract marble from China and to transport it to Turk than to dig it out of the Alps third argument the future of Swiss economy lies with Advanced products and services we could and should become to Europe what California is to the United States a vast laboratory for advanced technology but if and only if we are in Europe and finally the concept of nationality is dwindling do you realize that in Switzerland one baby out of of two is born with a foreign passport and a quarter of the inhabitants were born outside the country a level which is reached only by Australia we are at the top of immigration Country Now how to help Europe but first give power to the people the crisis of Europe is not only econ IC Europe is lacking the very institutions which could manage the present emergency it cannot survive as an elusive Coalition of independent countries it should become a federal state similar to Switzerland which has been through the centuries the model of a United Europe let us mention two significant sentences in the front of our constitution the people and the C form the Swiss Confederation the Swiss Confederation shall protect the liberty and rights of the people and the people are initially on the same level as the kons what lacks in Europe is a democratic expression of the citizens separated from the European government by too many levels of national political power and bureaucracy people must vote directly on important issues that is the first step your is to complicated the Mosaic of culture to accept bureaucratic decision making in Brussels this does not mean that the Swiss people always reach the best solution or even a solution better than the one devised by the government or the parliament the important point is that the people stand behind the decisions a popular vote can be right or wrong but the basic rule is simple the people ask the right to be wrong second argument a true Federal Europe must be built at the level of the regions Switzerland is a mosaic of very disperate entities originating from the drive of local people Europe could and should include as such provinces yearning from autonomy like Scotland Catalonia or Flanders of course some countries like the Netherlands or Denmark are small and curent enough to enter as such in the federal state but England France Spain Germany and Italy could and should dissolve into autonomous regions the disintegration of the national ENT entities gathered unwillingly by a long series of War could be a second step to a democratic Europe third step a federal Council not a government in all European countries the government is based on four pillars a head of the Executive the Prime Minister a program for the legislature a parliament majority to support the action of the government and a solid team compact recruited by the Prime Minister although it seems sound this organization will not work in Europe with 23 official languages we have four only plus 150 minority dialects five different religious denominations and a multitude of local Traditions the Swiss Federal council is not really a government no leader no program no majority no team instead of a real legisl program the method is to introduce some acts taking into account all the contradictory request originating in a wide consultation of Representative bodies and in the end the people can always reverse a decision taken by the government and the Parliament this system is complicated slow and Ill prepared to deal with otheros crisis the relinquishment of the bank secrecy the rescue of UBS are examples of the disasters inherent to the system of a federal Council but at large it works since it maintains the unity of the country despite its diversity it prohibits a superposition of political forids over cultural clashes and it move leisurely because any fast moving would be fatle to the country and last feature any Constitution however well carves is not sufficient it must be implemented with common sense mutual respect and the will to submit particular interest to common good by accepting at a certain moment to stop the discussions for the sake of Peace this defines a culture an unwritten law more spiritual than judical The Secret of living with a Federal Constitution belongs to Switzerland which now must share this genetic Capital with all countries of the continents the mechanism of success is more straightforward than we suppose Luxembourg although very small in population enjoys a particular status in Europe since its Statesmen speak fluently German and French and they are the only one Switzerland as a multitude of bilingual politicians assured of a wonderful career in a federal Europe for the benefit of the Union conclusion Mario Vargas Loa wrote recently that the people advocating a narrow cultural identity opposed to globalization exhibit a defensive attitude we have no example of a civilization which remained unchanged throughout centuries except a few Indian tribes lost in the Amazon forest enclosed in a magical culture and doomed to Extinction strangely Switzerland like Latin America is challenged by the same choice or to preserve its identity and Safeguard its independence by a calculated opening to the wide world in a positive attitude thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]