A study on relations between Switzerland and the EU will be undertaken by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in collaboration with the Europa Institut of the University of Zurich (EIZ) on behalf of the Office for Economy and Labour of the Canton of Zurich. The main focus of the study will be the functioning of the bilateral agreements, in particular concerning the effectiveness of the institutional arrangements in adapting the agreements to new legal and political developments in the EU, and how they affect the operation of Swiss democracy. This will be compared with the functioning of other EU association arrangements such as the Agreement on a European Economic Area, with a view to provide strategic policy recommendations for the future development of EU-Swiss relations. The study will be undertaken during 2005. In addition to academic research and analysis of official documents, a number of interviews will be conducted with officials, experts and other interested parties in Brussels (EU institutions, EFTA and Swiss EU Mission) and in Switzerland (federal government and parliament, kantons, trade unions and associations, and experts). An informal expert seminar to discuss the first draft will be organised in October 2005. The study is expected to result in the publication of a CEPS paperback in early 2006, which will be presented at two conferences in Brussels and Zurich.