GENEVA, Sept 24, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A Swiss vote Sunday on limiting EU
immigration is not expected to pass, but fears abound that a shock “yes”
could deal a fatal blow to relations with the bloc.
The initiative, backed by the populist right-wing Swiss People’s Party
(SVP) — Switzerland’s largest party — has seen dwindling public support in
recent polls.
But SVP has eked out surprise victories in the past in its drawn-out war
against tightening relations with the European Union, fueling concern that
Switzerland’s relationship with its biggest trading partner could be in
jeopardy.
The initiative, put to a vote as part of Switzerland’s direct democracy
system, calls for the country to revise its constitution to ensure it can
autonomously handle its immigration policy.
SVP, which has built its brand by condemning immigration and EU influence,
warns that the wealthy Alpine country is facing “uncontrolled and excessive
immigration” and that Swiss “jobs are threatened”.
“We must retrieve the portion of sovereignty involving controlling
immigration,” Vincent Schaller, an SVP member of the Geneva municipal
parliament, told AFP.
Speaking from a stand set up near a Geneva market for discussions with the
public about the upcoming vote, he insisted that “SVP wants immigration of
choice.”
– ‘Enough!’ –
He was flanked by one of the party’s more provocative posters for this
vote, showing a jeans-clad behind with an EU-starred belt sitting heavily on
a map of Switzerland, under the words: “Enough is enough!”.
“We are in favour of quality immigration, not quantity immigration,” SVP
member Elvira Voskresenskaia agreed.
While not an EU member, Switzerland is bound to the bloc through an array
of intricately connected bilateral agreements.
If the SVP initiative passes, Swiss authorities would have one year to
negotiate an end to its 1999 agreement with Brussels on the free movement of
persons between Switzerland and the bloc.
The proposal goes even further than a similar measure, also backed by SVP,
that was voted on in February 2014. It demanded that Bern impose quotas on
migration from EU countries.
That vote narrowly passed, throwing Swiss-EU relations into disarray, with
Brussels warning that any curbs on immigration by EU citizens put a whole
range of bilateral agreements at risk.
Bern struggled for years to find a way to respect the will of the people
without permanently alienating EU neighbours.
After lengthy talks, the agreement reached in late 2016 stopped far short
of an initial plan to impose quotas on resident permits issued to EU
citizens, which Brussels had fiercely rejected.
Instead Bern opted to merely require Swiss employers to jump through a few
bureaucratic hoops before hiring from the bloc, and to prioritise Swiss job
seekers, at least ostensibly.
SVP condemned that compromise as a “betrayal” and launched its new
initiative.
– ‘Guillotine clause’ –
While the 2014 vote still looms large in Switzerland’s collective memory,
it seems anxiety over immigration has lessened somewhat: recent polls
indicate around 65 percent of Swiss are opposed to the SVP initiative.
“Conditions have changed greatly compared to 2014,” Geneva University
political scientist Pascal Sciarni told AFP.
He pointed to research showing a number of people who voted for SVP’s 2014
initiative had changed their mind after realising that the EU would not budge
on certain principles.
SVP meanwhile finds itself more isolated than ever, with the government,
parliament, unions, employer organisations and all other political parties
urging voters to reject the initiative.
Opponents stress the importance of the EU relationship for the country’s
economy, in particular in border regions like Geneva and Basel, where large
numbers of people cross over from the EU every day to work.
The government has also cautioned that if Switzerland unilaterally voids
the free movement accord, a “guillotine” clause will come into force to
freeze the entire package of Swiss-EU deals, including on trade.
Sunday’s poll will also see Swiss voters cast ballots on a range of other
issues, including on whether to dish out 6.0 billion Swiss francs ($6.6
billion, 5.6 billion euros) for new fighter jets, and on whether to grant two
weeks’ paternity leave to new fathers.