Swiss voters are expected to reject closer ties with the European Union in a referendum on Sunday.
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Latest opinion polls on Sunday's referendum over whether Switzerland should start immediate talks on joining the EU show only a third of Swiss voters are in favour. The number has slipped steadily over recent months.
"This initiative was stillborn," said Mr Jean-Francois Mercier, a Switzerland specialist at Citibank in London. "Odds now appear stacked against Switzerland joining the EU - and the euro - during this decade."
The last time the issue was raised was in 1992 when more than half of Swiss voters said "no" to joining the European Economic Area which groups the EU and its key trading partners.
Sunday's vote has been triggered by the "Yes to Europe" campaign, which filed for the referendum in 1996 after collecting the 100,000 supporting signatures required by law for calling such a vote.
Proponents say joining the EU will give the Swiss a say in key EU decisions that already affect Switzerland.