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Swiss vote tests EU ties
Switzerland is set to vote in a referendum Sunday on limiting its population size, with voters asked whether Switzerland’s population should be capped at 10 million.
“Switzerland to vote on plan to cap population at 10 million Can a country put a fixed limit on its population”
The proposal is backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which bills it as a “sustainability” initiative, while opponents argue it could set Switzerland on a collision course with the European Union.
CNN frames the referendum as a “Brexit moment,” saying a yes vote could put Switzerland on a collision course with the European Union.
The BBC reports the plan would cap the population at 10 million before 2050 and order the government to take measures once the figure of 9.5 million is reached, with possible steps including limiting asylum and ending family reunification rights for foreign workers.
Campaign divides over immigration
The BBC describes how the referendum has exposed divisions about immigration, with the Swiss People’s Party calling it a “sustainability initiative” while the government and other parties label it a “chaos initiative.”
Helin Genis, a Social Democrat elected to Bern city council, tells BBC News: "It is not migrants who determine rent levels."
Rudolf Minsch, chief economist of Economiesuisse, warns that if the motion is passed, Switzerland "could face challenges in our relations with the European Union".
CNN adds that business leaders warn the cap risks harming the economy and leaving companies struggling to fill jobs, and it quotes Jürg Müller of Avenir Suisse saying, “You see the tensions on housing markets, infrastructure… access to lakes… it feels for many people too crowded.”
What’s at stake after Sunday
Multiple outlets say the referendum’s consequences extend beyond immigration policy, because if the 10 million cap is reached international agreements Switzerland has signed up to would have to be terminated, including the EU’s free movement of people.
“Switzerland, a wealthy country that has historically embraced free movement and foreign investment, is about to vote on whether to cap its population — and restrict immigration measures to do so”
The BBC reports that this prospect has caused alarm at Economiesuisse, and it says the EU has long warned non-EU members they cannot cherry-pick single market advantages while ending commitments like free movement of people.
In its framing of the vote, CNN says the proposal could leave Switzerland in isolation, quoting Beat Jans as saying: “On June 14, we will experience Switzerland’s Brexit moment. A ‘yes’ vote would put us in isolation.”
The Guardian similarly warns that a yes vote 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 if the 10m threshold is still exceeded before 2050.
