Officially known as the Swiss Confederation, Switzerland is a federal parliamentary republic made up of 26 cantons, representing four languages ​​and a population of just over eight million. Switzerland is well known for its small territory but high standard of living, as well as its banking system and adherence to traditional Swiss culture. Although the state is autonomous, it is part of the Schengen area unlike all EU members and remains outside the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA), as it became the only member of the EFTA to reject membership via referendum in 1992. Despite this, Switzerland maintains strong economic relations with EU members through a series of bilateral agreements covering, among others, trade, free movement of people, agriculture and taxation. These arrangements between countries provide for an increasingly interdependent European continent characterized by trade agreements, free movement of Swiss EU citizens and a single European market. A recent referendum against mass immigration passed through Swiss direct democracy with a majority of just 50.3%, effectively nullifying the bilateral agreements reached with the EU in 1999. The referendum is binding in Switzerland and requires the Swiss Federal Council to produce legislation within three years of the vote. As a result, EU officials have expressed their regret at the outcome of the poll and are carefully considering the possibility of reevaluating their relations with Switzerland. The issue of Switzerland's proposed limit on immigration is a very recent issue, and the results of the referendum are likely to be a catalyst for changes in EU policies. This article examines the measures adopted by the European Union......at the heart of the paper......immigration." Le Temps, September 2011. Ryser, Monique. Bilateral agreements Switzerland-EU. Edited by the Office of Integration FDFA/FDEA, Bern, Switzerland: Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA, 2009.Schwok, René Switzerland - European Union: Membership Impossible? Brussels: European Interuniversity Press, 2009.Taylor, Paul and Richard Mably Both Ways on Migration : EU's Barroso." Reuters (Brussels), 12 February 2014. Accessed March 2014. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/us-eurozone-summit-switzerland-idUSBREA1B0FG20140212 .Telegraph staff and agencies. "France ready to 'roll out the red carpet' for British exit from the EU." The Telegraph (England), 23 January 2013. Accessed March 2014. http://www.telegraph.co.uk /finance/financialcrisis/9820327/France-ready-to-roll-out-the-red-carpet-for-l 'british-exit-from-the-EU.html.