Life as an EU satellite: Swiss, Turks hold lessons for UK

FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 19, 2018 file photo, Switzerland's President Alain Berset arrives for an EU-ASEM summit in Brussels. Britons wondering what life may be like outside the European Union might consider how the Swiss, Turks or Norwegians have fared: They know well the benefits and headaches of being close to - but not part of - the gargantuan economic and political bloc. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, file)

GENEVA – Britons wondering what life could be like outside the European Union might consider how the Swiss, Turks or Norwegians have fared: They know well the benefits and headaches of being close to — but not part of — the gargantuan economic and political bloc.

Switzerland, Norway and Turkey are among several European countries that are not members of the 28-strong EU but are close to it economically — a position Britain is looking increasingly likely to take.

But the lucrative relationship comes with hassles: Never-ending, near-daily negotiation with the EU, and forced adaptation to its dictates. In the Brexit talks so far, the EU has held the upper hand by virtue of being a larger power and Britain can expect that relationship to continue long after any Brexit deal.