Why is Switzerland unable to join European Union (EU) till date (2010) despite its governments persistent effort to do so?

Switzerland's inability to join the European Union (EU) is primarily due to the Swiss electorate's consistent rejection of deeper integration in favor of maintaining national sovereignty and neutrality. Although the Swiss government submitted an accession application in May 1992, the process was effectively frozen after Swiss voters rejected membership in the European Economic Area (EEA) in a December 1992 referendum by a narrow margin of 50.3% [1]. The Swiss public perceives EU membership as a threat to their historic policy of neutrality and their unique system of direct democracy. Instead of full membership, Switzerland has pursued a 'bilateral approach,' signing numerous sectoral agreements that allow participation in the single market while preserving a sense of sovereignty [1]. This bilateral path has been repeatedly endorsed by the Swiss people in various referendums, making full EU accession politically unviable despite government interests [1].

Sources

1. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland%E2%80%93European_Union_relations