So far, mosty Swiss opponents have spoken out against the far-right’s ‘No to 10 million’ initiative. But as the June 14th referendum date is getting closer, criticism is coming from abroad as well.
Concretely, the opposition is coming from the parliamentarians representing European Union states – the very countries that will be impacted if the measure, calling for caps on immigration, is approved at the ballot box.
That’s because in order to achieve its goal of stopping further population growth, the initiative’s instigators, the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), want to cut the number of EU nationals allowed to work in Switzerland.
READ MORE: What exactly does the Swiss ‘no to 10 million’ anti-immigration proposal aim to do?
This would put an end not only to the free movement of persons agreement between Switzerland and the EU, but to other areas of cooperation as well – read more about this below.
‘Covert attack’
According to Christophe Grudler, the European Parliament’s permanent rapporteur for Switzerland, accepting the initiative would jeopardise the currently good relations between Bern and Brussels.
“The initiative is a covert attack on our relations,” he said.
Other members of the European Parliament (MEP) agree.
“From a European perspective, the free movement of persons is a central component of the bilateral approach,” said MEP Norbert Lins.
But acceptance of the initiative would introduce “significant uncertainties” into the ratification process of the new agreement package, concluded between Bern and Brussels – the Bilateral III.
MEP Zeljana Zovko also argued that approval of the SVP bid would cause “unnecessary” turmoil, “particularly at a time when stability and cooperation with trusted partners are essential.”
Does Switzerland really need the EU?
One way to describe Switzerland’s relationship with the EU is this: it doesn’t want to be part of the bloc, but it can’t live without it either.
To date, Switzerland is one of only a handful of western European nations that have not joined the European Union, and yet it has strong ties with the bloc.
One is that exports are the backbone of Swiss economy, with the EU, and in particular Germany, being Switzerland’s main trading partners.
Switzerland relies on its access to the single market in other ways as well, all of which play a major part in the country’s economic prosperity. For this reason, Bern and Brussels have signed over 100 reciprocal treaties, covering not only trade, but also matters of cross-border security, research and education, agriculture, transport, environment, police cooperation, and a number of other agreements.
One of the major ones is the Free Movement of Persons Agreement, which allows citizens of EU states to freely work and live in Switzerland, and vice-versa.
Another makes Switzerland part of the borderless Schengen area, making travel through Europe much easier and more convenient for Swiss citizens.
All of them may have to be terminated, or (on the best-case senate, renegotiated) if the proposal prevails at the polls.
READ MORE: How will Switzerland benefit from new pact with the European Union?
