Like Swiss, Brussels Airlines has been formed from the former short-haul subsidiary of the old national airline.

ECONOMIST: Back to old tricks | The

Unsurprisingly, given the crisis in the eurozone, opinion polls today show the Swiss have little enthusiasm for Brussels: barely 11% say they would consider membership.

BBC: Sceptical Swiss locked into EU's embrace

And now a new era of agonised decision-making may be approaching, because Brussels has told the Swiss government the EU is no longer interested in pursuing bilateral agreements.

BBC: Sceptical Swiss locked into EU's embrace