瑞士的全民公决甚至都否决了加入欧洲经济区；但是为了能更好地与欧盟做生意，瑞士政府后来不得不接受大部分欧洲经济区规则，无论如何，包括人员的自由流动以及对欧盟预算的贡献。
The Swiss rejected even EEA membership in a referendum; however, to do business with the EU on the level it wanted, the Swiss government later had to accept most of the EEA rules anyway, including the free movement of people and contributions to the EU budget.