Switzerland's European policy goals remain the securing and further development of extensive access to the EU internal market as well as cooperation with the EU in selected areas of interest while maintaining the greatest possible political autonomy.

Access to the EU's internal market is made possible by five agreements of the Bilateral Agreements I of 1999. The Bilateral Agreements II concerned further economic interests, but extended cooperation to important political areas such as internal security, asylum and the environment. But even after the Bilateral Agreements II came into force in 2004, the EU and Switzerland expanded their cooperation, for example in corporate taxation or police cooperation.