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SVP calls for a vote on ending Swiss-EU freedom of movement

The right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) has called for a vote on ending the Swiss-EU agreement for free movement of people.

Published: 26 June 2017 10:55 CEST
Updated: 26 June 2017 12:55 CEST
SVP calls for a vote on ending Swiss-EU freedom of movement
File photo of an EU flag: John MacDougall/AFP

Delegates from the party on Saturday gave the green light for a referendum on overturning the agreement.

The initiative will be launched by the end of 2017, the party said in a statement, though there are two possible variants of the vote.

Either it will call simply for the termination of Switzerland's agreement of free movement with the EU, or it will call for immigration to be a national matter – effectively putting an end to any future agreements as well as the current one.

SVP National Councillor Marco Chiesa said party members should “not to afraid to be categorized as 'populist'” and added: “They will try to portray us in a bad light, to scare the population.”

He said that his native region, Italian-speaking Ticino, had suffered from an “emergency in the ruined labour market” due to free movement of people. Tensions have risen in the region between locals and cross-border workers, and in September 2016 an SVP initiative called for companies to give Swiss workers preference over foreigners.

The vote will be planned by the SVP together with anti-immigration body, the Association for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland (AUNS), whose members voted unanimously in May to develop an initiative aimed at ending Swiss-EU free movement.

READ ALSO: Where in Switzerland do foreigners choose to live?

AUNS is backed by many in the SVP, including outspoken former Valais minister Oskar Freysinger, who lost his seat in March in what an opponent hailed as “a defeat for populism and aggression”.

 
The AUNS' move followed a decision by the Swiss government last December not to fully implement the 2014 anti-immigration initiative that was approved by the public in a referendum. Had it been adopted in its original form, that initiative would have contravened the country’s free movement agreement with the EU.

A survey carried out by Le Matin in mid-May showed that only 37 percent of those polled would support an end to free movement. While the vast majority of SVP voters were in favour, supporters of the Socialists, the Greens, the Christian Democrats and the Liberal-Radicals would largely reject the initiative, that survey showed.
    
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POLITICS

What are Switzerland’s top priorities for the coming year?

The year 2024 is not finished yet, but the Swiss government has already set its “concrete and quantifiable objectives” for next year. What are they?

Published: 19 September 2024 13:55 CEST
What are Switzerland’s top priorities for the coming year?

On Wednesday September 18th, president Viola Amherd unveiled the Federal Council’s goals for 2025.

“In 2025, the focus will be on bilateral relations with the European Union, social policy, and continuing reforms in the healthcare sector,” the Federal Council announced in a press release.

All these issues are likely to have at least some impact on Switzerland’s population, including foreign residents.

Let’s have a closer look at these priorities.

EU-Swiss relations

After Bern walked out of its negotiations with Brussels in May 2021, and following a nearly three-year ‘cooling off’ period, the two parties resumed their talks in March of 2024.

The currently on-going negotiations aim, according to  the European Commission, “at ensuring a level playing field for competition between EU and Swiss companies operating within the EU internal market and guarantee the protection of the rights of EU citizens working in Switzerland, including non-discrimination between citizens of different Member States.” 

So if you are a citizen of any European Union state, the outcome of these talks will impact you — hopefully in a positive way.

Social policy

This will relate to the country’s state pension scheme /AHV / AVS), which includes the funding and implementation in 2026 of the 13th pension — a move that will affect both the retired and the still active workforce.

READ ALSO: How much will the 13th pension payment in Switzerland cost you? 

Healthcare reforms

This is not a new issue for Switzerland — on the contrary, the government has been trying cut the soaring costs of the health system for years.

The challenge it has is to curb the spending without cutting — or scraping altogether — various benefits currently covered by the obligatory health insurance scheme.

No concrete results that are acceptable to everyone have yet been found, so the Federal Council will continue this task in 2025.

These are the main challenges the government will tackle next year, but it has listed other ‘to-do’ tasks as well

They are:

  • To “sustainably secure its prosperity and seize the opportunities offered by digital technology”
  • To promote national and intergenerational cohesion
  • To ensure security, working towards peace and acting consistently and reliably internationally
  • To protect the climate and care for natural resources

Also on next year’s government agenda: to decide whether to further extend the special ‘S’ refugee status for people from Ukraine, which expires in March 2026. 

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