The Foreigner, a Norwegian newspaper published in English, is reporting that Heming Olaussen, leader of the “No to the EU” organization is calling for a new alliance between Switzerland, Norway and the UK, should the latter vote to cease their EU membership. “We need to sit down with Switzerland and the UK and find out what we can achieve together”; while believing that such a tri-nation alliance would provide better bargaining conditions with the EU.
Following the recent report that the EU was insisting bi-lateral agreements had “run their course”, we now read that Switzerland has approached Norway for help in avoiding being forced into the EEA agreement.
Interesting times indeed.
Switzerland, Norway and the UK
Original Article at Witterings from Witney http://witteringsfromwitney.com/a-non-eu-alliance/
Hmmm – must keep an eye on that. I should think the EU would collapse pretty soon after so there’d be more partners.
It was inevitable that in the life of the EU schisms were going to open up as they did in that other union the American one. Unlike the USA the EU is far more diverse and therefore the chances of acrimony greater not that the American one was not acrimonious enough. Despite the many flaws in Cameron’s speech it has exposed a schism between statist and protectionist federalists and free market liberals. The first shots of the EU civil war have been fired. The rebels in this case euro-sceptics are not well equipped for the coming battles, however they have one thing in their favour a fire is raging in the federalists arsenal known as the euro-zone. Even if the rebels us lose this one there is plenty reasons to believe that schisms aplenty will occur again in the future. One note of optimism is that having opened the schism many who had thought that there was not reason to have one will have there eyes opened as to what the pros and cons of the EU really are and will decide to choose sides.
My fear is still that the referendum will not be fair and free of interference from the EU, that there will be much ‘misinformation’ spread which wont be corrected in the media.
Picking up on JH’s point, I believe that were we to leave and join EFTA/EEA it would not be long before others followed once they have seen all is well and then you will see the demise of the EU