The Swiss government on the 16th of March urged electorate to reject an initiative aimed at setting a population cap on the country, saying the plan would jeopardize cooperation with the European Union and harm the economy, Reuters reports.
The initiative, backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), will be put to a referendum on the 14th of June. Meanwhile, Switzerland is seeking to deepen ties with the EU to protect access to its main trading partner’s market. The plan would cap the permanent population at 10 million by 2050 and would require Switzerland to abandon its free movement agreement with the EU. The initiative’s backers say immigration levels are too high, causing a housing crisis, driving up rents and putting undue pressure on public infrastructure.
Switzerland’s largest party, the SVP, opposes closer cooperation with the EU,
seeing the bloc as a threat to Swiss sovereignty and an overly restrictive one.
Switzerland’s population currently exceeds nine million, but the Federal Council has said the initiative threatens economic stability, internal security and Switzerland’s humanitarian traditions. In 2024, foreigners made up 27% of the total population of Switzerland.
Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans has spoken out against the initiative, saying that its implementation would endanger the labor market and therefore Swiss companies. It would also hinder cooperation with other European countries on security and immigration issues. The government has pointed out that in turbulent times, such an initiative creates an even greater sense of insecurity.
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