Free movement of people: Economiesuisse calls for a protective clause – News


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Economiesuisse suggests that the Federal Council should demand a more effective protective clause when it comes to the free movement of people. In parliament it is hoped that this will be able to combat the latest SVP immigration initiative.

Since Switzerland began negotiating with the EU again about the future of the bilateral agreements, little has been reported. But domestic expectations are high. Even the business association Economiesuisse expects that the Federal Council should negotiate hard again on the free movement of people.

The economic umbrella organization also emphasizes that the free movement of people is indispensable for Swiss companies, especially in times of skilled labor shortages. But recently Economiesuisse has been mentioning the negative consequences of immigration noticeably often.

One of the measures could be the new protective clause that the Federal Council wants to specify in the EU negotiations.

It is recognized that immigration has been extremely high in recent years, says Economiesuisse director Monika Rühl. “Suitable measures are needed,” says Rühl. “We can imagine that one of the measures could be the new protective clause that the Federal Council currently wants to specify in the negotiations with the EU.”

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Monika Rühl, chairwoman of the management board of Economiesuisse, has certain hopes for a more effective protective clause for the free movement of people.

KEYSTONE/Anthony Anex

The next SVP initiative is just around the corner

Large parts of the economy are worried about the latest SVP immigration initiative. The SVP submitted the so-called sustainability initiative in March. The demand: The permanent resident population should not exceed ten million.

SVP party leadership member Franz Grüter likes the idea of ​​a more effective protective clause for the free movement of people with the EU, but that is not enough. “Immigration is enormous, especially in the asylum sector,” says Grüter. A protective clause does not make the SVP initiative superfluous.

Switzerland is currently negotiating with the EU about further developing the bilateral agreements. The contract package will probably come to the ballot box almost at the same time as the new SVP immigration initiative.

For centrist foreign politician Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (Baselland), a protective clause is all the more important. “This SVP initiative hits a nerve with the population,” admits Schneider-Schneiter. “That’s why the discussion about a protective clause mechanism is important.” A more effective protective clause could at best serve as a counter-proposal to the SVP’s sustainability initiative.

Existing protective clause remains vague


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There is already a protective clause in today’s free movement of persons agreement with the EU. However, this can only be activated in the event of “serious economic or social problems”. And not only Switzerland, but also the EU would have to agree to the activation.

The agreement on the free movement of persons with the EU does not specify in more detail what measures Switzerland could take if the protective clause were activated. “Measures should be chosen that impair the functioning of the agreement as little as possible,” it simply says.

EU law expert Astrid Epiney from the University of Freiburg comes to the conclusion that today’s protective clause, which is mentioned in the agreement on the free movement of people with the EU, is worded very vaguely. It would be worthwhile to specify this protective clause, she says.

“You could imagine defining certain percentages of immigration in a certain reference area,” says Epiney. The question, however, is whether the EU would accept it or not.

It is very uncertain whether Switzerland can negotiate a more effective protective clause with the EU. So far it is not even clear whether the EU is ready to talk about the safeguard clause in the current negotiation phase.

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