Democracy initiative not heard by National Council committee
Keystone-SDA
The responsible committee in the House of Representatives has rejected a popular initiative that would transfer naturalisation regulations to the federal government and shorten deadlines.
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The House’s Political Institutions Committee voted against the popular initiative “In favour of modern civil rights (democracy initiative)” by 17 votes to 8. This was announced by the parliamentary services on Friday. It rejected motions for counter-proposals. The full House of Representatives will now decide.
The initiative demands that the federal government should be responsible for naturalisation legislation rather than the cantons. Applicants should be entitled to naturalisation after just five years of legal residence in the country, regardless of whether they have a permanent residence permit.
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The prerequisites should be a basic knowledge of a national language and no serious criminal offences. At present, only those who have a C residence permit and have lived in Switzerland for at least ten years are eligible for naturalisation. Cantonal legislation also stipulates a minimum period of residence of two to five years in the municipality and canton.
The initiative goes too far for the majority of the Committee. It doesn’t agree with the shortened minimum residence period and the waiver of minimum residence periods in the canton and commune.
It also criticises the fact that integration criteria would largely be removed. As a result, there would no longer be any familiarity with living conditions in Switzerland. However, this is essential for the acceptance of citizenship and sustainable integration, according to the committee.
The committee does, however, want to take account of people’s growing mobility. It has tabled a motion calling for the duration of residence in the canton and commune to be two to three years. The cantons should no longer be allowed to prescribe additional community time limits. The responsible Senate committee will decide on this next.
A minority supports the democracy initiative. It believes that standardised nationwide rules would increase transparency, improve equal opportunities and facilitate access to political rights. The federal government, on the other hand, rejects the initiative.
Translated from German by AI/jdp
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