The Swiss government has outlined its opposition to a popular vote aimed at halting immigration when the population nears 10 million. But it has failed to come up with a counter-proposal meaning the referendum will go ahead.
Launched by the right-wing Swiss People Party (SVP) in 2024, the proposal to curb the influx of foreigners has not yet been brought to the ballot box because the government was set to come up with a counter-proposal of its own.
The controversial initiative, “No Switzerland with 10 million people,” calls for the Federal Council and parliament to stop immigration when the permanent resident population exceeds 9.5 million (it currently exceeds 9 million).
This is a necessary step, the SVP politicians argue, because the steadily increasing number of foreign residents puts additional burden on Switzerland’s already over-stretched infrastructure, including housing, public transport, and health system.
READ ALSO: What Switzerland’s new vote to limit immigration could mean
The Federal Council has said from the beginning that it opposes this initiative, stressing the importance that foreign nationals have for Switzerland’s economy.
It initially wanted to come up with its own counter-proposal, which would be a more moderate version of the SVP’s initiative (and satisfactory to all political parties), but the ministers finally announced on March 21st that they would not be doing this.
What happens now?
The Federal Council proposed that the “parliament submit the initiative to the people without any direct or indirect counterproposals,” the government wrote in a press release.
It also reiterated its stance that “this initiative threatens Switzerland’s prosperity and security, as well as the sustainable development of its economy,” and recommended that voters reject it.
Additionally, the government repeated that the SVP proposal also fundamentally calls into question the bilateral approach with the EU.”
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Instead, the ministers will “address the challenges of immigration, targeting areas where intervention is still necessary, by defining measures focused on the labour market, housing, and asylum.”
Finally, ministers emphasised that the safeguard clause negotiated with the EU could allow for future protective measures.
READ ALSO: Why are EU and Switzerland in deadlock over ‘safeguard’ clause on immigration?
The parliament can now go ahead and set a date for the referendum.
