Switzerland does not want more migrants. The country has announced that it will vote in a referendum next June whether or not to limit the population residing in the country to ten million (it currently has about 9.5 million inhabitants) before 2050, in an initiative that aims to stop the migratory flow in the territory and asylum.
The measure, proposed by the far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP in its German acronym), would force the federal government to adopt measures to stop immigration and, in practicerestrict the granting of residence permits to foreign citizens.
The referendum is expected to be held next June 14a day on which the Swiss will also vote for a civil service reform, which aims to reduce the number of hirings, with the aim of reducing admissions from 6,600 to 4,000.
The initiative has obtained the necessary signatures to submit to a referendum, a common mechanism in the Swiss direct democracy system. Despite this, it does not have the support of the Executive or the majority of the traditional parties, which warn of its economic and social consequences. And limiting the population, as they defend, could cause labor shortage, slow growth and aggravate demographic aging.
Furthermore, as EP states, the federal government has warned that the proposal could put at risk bilateral agreements with the European Union, especially those related to the free movement of people.
