For the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the EEA Agreement (May 2, 1992) and the historical refusal by the Swiss people to join the EEA (December 6, 1992), Patrick Piffaretti, Director of the Foundation Jean Monnet for Europe, asked Philippe G. Nell to write a book for the Foundation.
At 414 pages, this book is almost uniquely based on primary sources and brings the reader into the meeting rooms and inside the Swiss delegation. The book explores the most important issues for Switzerland during these negotiations were the institutional questions; they remain today at the heart of Swiss-EU relations and block presently any progress until agreement is reached on a new framework encompassing all Swiss-EU bilateral economic relations.
Philippe G. Nell will offer all his revenues from the book to the "Taller de los niños" in Lima, an institution that looks after 180 young children (1-5) in a slum of Lima and provides various health and education services. El "Taller de los niños" has been established and headed by Christiane Ramseyer, a Swiss native from the Montreux area, active in Peru for more than 30 years.
Philippe G. Nell has been to Brussels more than 30 times to represent the Swiss authorities and to negotiate various agreements. He has published more than 30 articles on trade and integration policy. He has been teaching since 1993 at the European Institute of the University of Basel, at the University of Fribourg (1994) and at European University (2000). He holds the diplomatic title of Minister and heads Swiss Trade and Investment Relations with the Americas for the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in Bern.
About the Author: Philippe G. Nell acted as Secretary of the High-Level Negotiating Group during the European Economic Area (EEA) Negotiations (1989-92). He was in permanent contact with State Secretary Franz Blankart and the Head of the Integration Office, Ambassador Jakob Kellenberger, and attended all negotiating meetings. He also took part to numerous ministerial meetings with Federal Councilor Jean-Pascal Delamuraz.
Author: Philippe G. Nell
Publisher: Fondation Jean Monnet pour l'Europe, Centre de recherches européennes (Lausanne) and Economica (Paris), May 2012