Thread by @Xy5Z89

#Switzerland #EU #Bern #Referendum
-Threade-

The right-wing populist Swiss People's Party is again launching an initiative to limit immigration. With a referendum she wants to get out of an agreement concluded in 1999.

According to this, EU citizens can live and work freely in Switzerland. The Swiss are speaking in a referendum this Sunday on a whole range of issues ranging from a reform of the hunting law to paid paternity leave.

An initiative by the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party (@SVPch) could have serious effects on the relationship with the EU: It provides for the country to withdraw from the principle of free movement for EU citizens.

According to the latest polls, the initiative of the strongest party in parliament has little chance of success: it is rejected by around 65 percent of the Swiss Confederation.

The government, parliament, political parties, trade unions and the employers' association also call for no. But the surprising, albeit extremely narrow majority in favor of a similar advance by the @SVPch in 2014 urges caution with forecasts.

At the time, she called for the reintroduction of immigration quotas - for asylum seekers as well as EU citizens. In this way, the SVP hoped to nullify an agreement concluded with Brussels in 1999, according to which EU citizens can also live and work freely in Switzerland.

The new popular initiative "for moderate immigration (limitation initiative)" goes one step further: under the motto "too much is too much", the SVP is now specifically calling for an exit from the agreement.

If the Swiss vote in favor of the proposal, the government in Bern will only be given a one-year deadline to negotiate the exit with Brussels. If there is no agreement, she has to terminate the agreement within 30 days.

The 2014 vote had already annoyed the EU. Among other things, Brussels pointed out that Switzerland had only been given access to the EU internal market as a non-member because of the free movement of persons.

The free movement of citizens is a "heart" of relations between the EU and Switzerland and is therefore "non-negotiable".

Only after lengthy negotiations did the Bern government find a way out: Since 2016, Swiss employers have had to give preference to local jobseekers when recruiting, but the hurdles for hiring EU citizens are not too high. With its new initiative,

the SVP now wants to eliminate such back doors.
The Bern government warns against a unilateral termination of freedom of movement for EU citizens: In that case, a so-called guillotine clause would automatically apply,

with which a whole bundle of agreements between Brussels and Bern would be suspended - with severe consequences for the Swiss economy. According to political observers, Brussels’s firmness in principles caused quite a few voters to rethink.

In addition to the SVP's "limitation initiative", the Swiss have to vote on a number of other bills: Among other things,

they have to decide whether the Confederation is allowed to purchase new combat aircraft for up to six billion francs (5.6 billion euros) and the one approved by parliament two weeks of paid paternity leave should be withdrawn.

A new hunting law that relaxes the protection of wolves is also under scrutiny.

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