Those who point to Switzerland as a model of a country thriving outside the EU (here, here and here are just a few examples) have remained curiously silent about the referendum held there last weekend, where Swiss voters approved an increase in Swiss contributions to the EU budget. They approved, by 53%, a government proposal to give an extra one billion Swiss francs (630m euros) in aid to the 10 new members of the European Union.

The idea that you could simply benefit from the single European market by trading with it from outside without participating in common policies, is often advocated by Eurosceptics, quoting Switzerland as an example. But this shows that it ain't so simple.

The rest of Europe has always made it clear that Switzerland cannot just cherry pick its favorite advantages of the EU without contributing and has insisted, among other things, that it pays up to the structural funds – the deal that ensures that less prosperous regions and countries also benefit from the opening up of the single market.

Switzerland applied to join the EU years ago, and although it has never withdrawn that application, it has preferred to stay outside for now. But it cannot free-load in the way that Eurosceptics advocate. Its net budgetary contribution is, per capita, greater than most Member States. It participates in a number of EU common policies, accepts much EU legislation (but, as a non-member, with no voice in shaping and adopting it) and even joined the EU’s “Schengen” passport free travel area.

Hardly “escaping” from the EU in the way that Eurosceptics envisage!

Contrary to common belief in the UK, for many years the Swiss government has had a policy of pursuing EU membership in the long term. The details of their policy are here, but to summarise:

"The longer term aim of the Federal Council’s European policy is to take Switzerland into the European Union. The Federal Council is convinced that in the long-term our country can better safeguard its interests within the EU than outside it. Today, many problems can no longer be resolved through the lone actions of individual states, but only in acting together at European level."

In fact, Switzerland is in many ways already more integrated with the EU than we are, and of course, like Norway, they pay substantial amounts into the EU coffers in order to benefit from a complex series of bilateral free trade agreements, while not being able to influence EU decision-making.

News today is that Swiss voters have approved another two steps towards integration: joining the EU's passport-free zone and opening their borders (the 'Schengen agreement'), and sharing crime and asylum information (the 'Dublin agreement'). Even the UK has an opt-out from the former agreement.

From the BBC today:

"The 'Yes' vote is a relief for the Swiss government, which wants closer integration with the EU. In the wake of the French and Dutch rejections of the European constitution, opinion polls in Switzerland had indicated support for the government's position was slipping away.

"Karin Gilland-Lutz, a political scientist at the University of Berne, says many people simply fear losing a way of life they regard as superior.

"'There is a feeling in Switzerland that there are certain elements of life here which are important, which make Switzerland special - direct democracy and neutrality for example. These are both emotionally quite heavily loaded for most people here.'

"At the same time, many political and business leaders have become concerned about Switzerland's growing isolation. The EU is Switzerland's most important trading partner, with 60% of Swiss exports going to EU member states."