Switzerland to Vote on “No 10 Million” Immigration Proposal
Swiss voters will decide on June 14 whether to cap their country’s population at 10 million by restricting immigration.
The proposal, titled “No 10-million Switzerland,” is a popular initiative spearheaded by the conservative Swiss People’s Party (SVP). If passed, it would require the government to restrict immigration in order to prevent Switzerland’s population from surpassing 10 million before 2050. Specifically, the measure stipulates that if the country’s population surpasses 9.5 million, the government would need to restrict asylum and family reunification and renegotiate international agreements that promote mass migration. If the population exceeds 10 million, Switzerland would be required to withdraw from the UN’s Global Compact for Migration and its agreement with the European Union allowing for the free movement of people.
Establishment Urges to Reject
In December, Switzerland’s Council of States (upper house) voted 30-9 to recommend the proposal’s rejection, and the National Council (lower house) followed suit with a 123-67 vote. And in March, the seven-member Federal Council (executive branch) also recommended rejecting the initiative, explaining:
The initiative explicitly demands that the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) with the EU be terminated unless the population can be limited to ten million through other measures — such as the termination of human rights agreements — and unless exceptions or safeguard clauses have been negotiated or invoked by that time. Acceptance of the initiative would therefore entail a fundamental reorientation of Swiss migration policy and Swiss-EU relations, with far-reaching consequences….
An increase in the permanent resident population could necessitate the termination of a significant number of international treaties, the exact number of which has not yet been determined….
Terminating the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) would fundamentally call into question the bilateral approach [with the EU]. Due to the guillotine clause, terminating the AFMP would also invalidate other internal market agreements and jeopardize the Schengen and Dublin Association Agreements.
In other words, passing this initiative would force the government to withdraw Switzerland from a growing web of sovereignty-eroding international agreements — and the Swiss political establishment would rather leave their country shackled to them.
Public Support
Despite the government’s opposition to the initiative, it appears to have respectable support among the public. According to a December poll, 48 percent of Swiss voters supported the measure, while 41 percent opposed it.
This support is sensible. In the last 30 years, Switzerland’s population has increased from seven million to more than nine million — five times faster than the EU’s population growth, and fueled almost entirely through migration. Foreigners currently comprise more than a quarter of Switzerland’s population.
Switzerland’s system of direct democracy allows citizens and groups to force referendums on constitutional and statutory matters if they gather a certain number of signatures. As JP has previously reported, this system is antithetical to a republican form of government, which the U.S. Founding Fathers advocated.
Nonetheless, if the “No 10-million Switzerland” measure passes, it would be a major step toward restoring Switzerland’s national sovereignty and control over its national borders. Rather than seeking further integration with the EU, the country should terminate its existing treaties and agreements, and restore its historical commitment to maintaining national independence.