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Switzerland says ‘unthinkable’ if EU pacts halted
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Switzerland’s defense minister said it was “unthinkable” that his country’s accords with the European Union would be terminated as result of a referendum to curb immigration, saying threats of retaliation by the bloc were overblown.
Swiss voters this month narrowly backed a proposal to curtail immigration, a move that could violate a free movement of citizens pact with the 28-member bloc that came into force in 2002.
The treaty is part of a package of seven accords that stand or fall together and cover economic and technological cooperation, public procurement, and a host of other areas.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has warned the vote will have “serious consequences” for ties with the EU, which has already postponed talks with the Swiss on multibillion-dollar research and educational schemes.
“The EU and Switzerland both have an interest in coming up with sensible solutions,” Ueli Maurer, a member of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party that spearheaded the proposal, told the Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper.
“It’s unthinkable that the bilaterals will be terminated, whether by Switzerland or by the EU. Both sides benefit from them.”
Maurer said he did not expect much progress ahead of elections to the European Parliament in May, but expects “constructive” talks afterwards.
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned against retaliation, saying Europe’s own interests were best served by waiting to see how the Swiss implement the referendum result.
Switzerland has said it will draw up an implementation plan by the end of June and to draft a law by the end of the year. It must write the vote into law within three years.
The uncertainty arising from the vote has unsettled companies that depend heavily on foreigners to fill jobs and benefit from open access to the EU — Switzerland’s biggest trading partner that bought goods worth 110 billion Swiss francs (US$122 billion) in 2013.
The number of foreigners living in Switzerland rose by 61,570 people last year, two thirds of whom came from EU, official data show.
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