Switzerland Votes Sunday On SVP-Backed Population Cap Of 10 Million, Threatens EU Free Movement

Switzerland is preparing to vote in a referendum on limiting its population size, with the question asking whether Switzerland’s population should be capped at 10 million, a proposal backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP).

“- Published Can a country put a fixed limit on its population”

BBC

The initiative is set to be decided on Sunday, and if approved it would require measures to curb population growth, including steps in the asylum and family reunification sectors if the population reaches 9.5 million before 2050.

BBC

The plan also threatens to end the free movement of people agreement with the EU, which has been in force since 2002, and could put Switzerland’s participation in Schengen and Dublin agreements into question.

Justice Minister Beat Jans warned the change could provoke a “Brexit svizzera”, isolating the Confederation from Brussels, while the SVP frames the cap as “sustainability.”

Opponents of the initiative have nicknamed it the “chaos initiative,” arguing that it would deprive hospitals and hotels of much needed staff and damage relations with the European Union.

The BBC reports that Helin Genis, a Social Democrat elected to Bern city council, says: "It is not migrants who determine rent levels. It is not migrants who raise health insurance premiums."

CNBC

In contrast, Fiechter, who represents the Swiss People’s Party in canton Bern's parliament, complains: "Unchecked immigration is leading to Switzerland no longer being Switzerland."

Opinion polls cited by the BBC suggest voters are inching towards a no vote with 52% opposed, while CNBC says a recent poll found 52% would reject the population cap and 45% were in favor.

If the 10 million threshold is reached, the Guardian says the SVP proposal would oblige the government to pull out of the country’s free movement agreement with the EU, ending access to the bloc’s single market.

“Switzerland is set to vote in a referendum Sunday on limiting its population size – a proposal driven by divisions over immigration that could, if approved, set the country on a collision course with the European Union”

CNN

The BBC adds that international agreements Switzerland has signed up to, including the EU's free movement of people, would have to be terminated if the 10 million cap were reached, and it quotes Economiesuisse chief economist Rudolf Minsch warning Switzerland "could face challenges in our relations with the European Union".

DW describes the economic stakes in terms of immigration limits, with Tobias Heidland saying a “struggle would arise over what kind of immigration to still allow” if voters decided to limit immigration.

The Guardian also reports that the Swiss government, the seven-member government made up of ministers from Switzerland’s four biggest parties including the SVP, is collectively against the initiative, warning it would threaten national stability and harm the economy.