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IMMIGRATION

Is EU freedom of movement at risk in Swiss referendum?

The Swiss will vote Sunday on limiting immigration from the European Union, which, while not expected to pass, has sparked fears a shock "yes" could devastate relations with the bloc.

Is EU freedom of movement at risk in Swiss referendum?
Populist right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) have been calling to revise the Swiss constitution to ensure it can autonomously handle its immigration policy. Photos: AFP

The initiative, backed by the populist right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) — Switzerland's largest party — has seen dwindling public support in recent polls.

The most recent survey showed 65 percent of those questioned opposed the call to tear up an agreement permitting the free movement of people between Switzerland and the surrounding European Union.

It seems unlikely the initiative will garner the double majority needed to pass, winning both the popular vote and most of Switzerland's 26 cantons.

But the SVP has eked out surprise victories in the past in its drawn-out war against tightening relations with the EU, fuelling concern that Switzerland's relationship with its biggest trading partner could be in jeopardy.

The initiative, put to a vote as part of the direct democracy system, calls for Switzerland to revise its constitution to ensure it can autonomously handle immigration policy.

The SVP, which has built its brand by condemning immigration and EU influence, warns that the wealthy Alpine country is facing “uncontrolled and excessive immigration”.

Betrayal

While not an EU member, Switzerland is bound to the bloc through an array of intricately connected bilateral agreements.

If the SVP initiative passes, authorities would have one year to negotiate an end to the 1999 agreement on the free movement of persons between Switzerland and the bloc.

The proposal goes even further than a similar measure, also backed by the SVP, that narrowly passed in February 2014, demanding that Bern impose quotas on the number of work permits issued to EU citizens.

That vote threw Swiss-EU relations into disarray, with Brussels warning any curbs on immigration by EU citizens would put a whole range of bilateral agreements at risk.

Bern struggled for years to find a way to respect the vote without permanently alienating EU neighbours.

After lengthy talks, the agreement reached in late 2016 stopped far short of an initial quotas plan, which Brussels had fiercely rejected.

Instead Bern opted merely to require Swiss employers to jump through a few bureaucratic hoops before hiring from the bloc, and to prioritise Swiss job seekers, at least ostensibly.

The SVP condemned that compromise as a “betrayal” and launched its new initiative.

Votes on the SVP's initiative and several other issues had been scheduled to take place in May, but were postponed since the coronavirus lockdown measures prevented campaigning.

“Enough is enough!” reads the a poster demanding that the government scrap the freedom of movement agreement with the EU within a year.

Enough!

As soon as those measures began lifting a few months ago, the SVP rolled out its campaign posters, including one showing a jeans-clad behind with an EU-starred belt sitting heavily on a map of Switzerland, under the words: “Enough is enough!”

While the 2014 vote still looms large in Switzerland's collective memory, opinion polls hint that anxiety over immigration has lessened.

The SVP also finds itself more isolated than ever, with the government, parliament, unions, employer organisations and all other political parties urging voters to reject the initiative.

Opponents stress the importance of the EU relationship for the country's economy.

 

And the government has cautioned that if Switzerland unilaterally voids the free m

ovement accord, a “guillotine” clause will come into force to freeze the entire package of Swiss-EU deals, including on trade.

Sunday will also see Swiss voters cast ballots on a range of other issues, including whether to dish out six billion Swiss francs ($6.6 billion, 5.6 billion euros) for new fighter jets, and whether to grant two weeks' paternity leave to new fathers.

Most Swiss vote in advance in the popular polls and referenda held in the country every few months, and ballot boxes generally open for just a few hours on voting day for those wishing to cast their vote in person.

Polls open at different times in different cantons, but will all close by midday (1000 GMT), with initial results expected by early afternoon.

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REFERENDUM

What were the results of Switzerland’s cantonal referendums?

Along with national referendums, some Swiss cantons also held their own votes. Among the most contentious ones took place in Geneva, including around rights to vote for foreigners.

What were the results of Switzerland's cantonal referendums?

Swiss citizens in the French-speaking canton weighed in on some hot button issues on Sunday.

One concerned extending voting rights for foreigners

Specifically, the initiative called for foreigners who have lived in the canton for at least eight years, to be able to vote and stand as candidates for political offices at the cantonal level — a move that, if accepted, would make Geneva the first canton to grant non-Swiss citizens such sweeping rights.

(Neuchâtel and Jura allow foreigners to vote at cantonal level, but not stand for election).

However, on Sunday, voters heeded the recommendation of the Geneva parliament, which said that “the only path for foreigners to obtain full political rights is through naturalisation.”

The initiative was refused by 61 percent of voters.

However, 84.7 percent of voters were in favour of another cantonal proposal: to ban “the exhibition or wearing of symbols, emblems and any other object of hatred, particularly Nazi, in public spaces” in Geneva.

Voters also refused to change the current law on assisted suicide in elderly-care facilities.

While assisted suicide is legal throughout Switzerland, some cantons, like Vaud and Valais, also authorise public care facilities o allow this practice, as long as all the legal conditions are met.

Also in Geneva, such a legislation had prevented care facilities from banning assisted suicide on their premises.

However, cantonal parliament suspended these provisions, prompting an assisted suicide organisation, EXIT, to bring the issue to the polls.

Just over 76,5 percent of voters cast their votes in favour of maintaining the current system.

READ ALSO: Do Swiss cantons have different rules on assisted suicide?

What about other cantons?

Referendums were held in some cantons only.

In Fribourg, for instance, voters had to decide on constitutional initiative which sought to  ensure a public hospital emergency service operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, throughout the entire canton.

This initiative was driven by the cut in health services on the outskirts, which caused an increase in emergencies and an overload of cases in the hospitals in the city of Fribourg.

However, 62.8 percent of voters rejected this initiative. Instead, they favoured their parliament’s counter-proposal to improve access to health services for all residents of the canton.

And in Zug, 59.5 percent of voters said no to an initiative calling for a “safe, direct and continuous bicycle network” to be implemented in the canton by 2030.

Instead, voters agreed with their government’s argument that most of the initiative’s concerns have already been met because the canton has been working on improving the cycle path network for years.
 

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