The Pact on Migration and Asylum, a new EU plan to manage migration agreed upon by EU countries last year and officially endorsed by Switzerland’s executive last week, faces resistance from both the left and the right, RTS reported.
The pact requires more asylum applications to be processed in the countries where migrants first arrive at the EU’s external borders. Those who do not qualify for asylum can then be directly returned to their home countries. The Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, argues that the revised Schengen/Dublin system will reduce the number of unvetted migrants reaching Switzerland. However, some Swiss politicians oppose the new framework.
According to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), Switzerland will not contribute financially to these processing centers but will still benefit from them. Since more applications will be handled at Europe’s borders, fewer will need to be processed in central European countries such as Switzerland.
While the new system has broad support among centrist parties, it has drawn criticism from both the Green Party and the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP). Some within the Green Party object to the Eurodac database, which records identity data for asylum seekers. The database now stores facial photographs and fingerprints of individuals as young as six years old, instead of 14 as was previously the case.
Delphine Klopfenstein Broggini, a Green Party parliamentarian, told RTS that she believes building a “wall” around Europe is not the best way to manage migration. “It is our duty to protect those who need protection,” she said.
The Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), on the other hand, argues that the new system is unworkable and will place an unfair burden on Switzerland. Countries such as Greece and Italy, which receive large numbers of migrants, will receive financial support, while other states will still have to accommodate a share of the refugees entering Europe.
Parliament will vote on whether to adopt the pact this summer before the decision moves to the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house. As always in Switzerland, a referendum remains a possibility.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
