With the decision of British voters for the departure of Great Britain from the EU, Europe faces a number of major political and economic challenges. Aside from unbundling the complex web of compe-tencies that ties the EU to its outgoing member, the relationship between the UK and other important trading partners needs to be redefined as well. Switzerland is one of them. Both countries are among each other’s most important trading partners and investors. As a result, the British exit from the EU concerns Switzerland directly. An industry-wide survey conducted by economiesuisse supports this conclusion. It assessed the importance of the British market for different businesses and analyzed the challenges faced by Swiss companies in the wake of Brexit. They differ by sector but will have to be addressed quickly and jointly. The core issue is the substantive preservation of the bilateral treaties between Switzerland and the EU (notably bilateral agreements I & II and free trade agreement Switzerland-EU). They lose their validity for Great Britain after Brexit.

The key issue in any future arrangement is the continuation of full market access. At the same time, economic relations should be deepened, e.g. in financial services. Also, both governments should increase their joint efforts to remove administrative obstacles between the two countries.