Brussels, 30/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - Workers from 25 European countries who want to settle in Switzerland will temporarily no longer be subject to quotas. On Wednesday 30 April, the Swiss Federal Council decided to lift the safeguard clause intended to limit immigration linked to free movement. The agreement on the free movement of persons (AFMP) between Switzerland and the EU does not in fact provide for the possibility of prolongation.
Nevertheless, the Swiss government decided in May to extend the safeguard clause, with a view to countering the campaign against mass immigration. After acceptance of the UDC text on 9 February, the government must now propose measures taking account of the change of system in immigration policy called for in the referendum.
While waiting for the new legislation to enter into force (the groundwork of which should be laid before the summer), full and total free movement will apply for most Europeans. The quotas reintroduced in 2012 for nationals from Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic expire on Wednesday 30 April.
Bulgarians and Romanians excluded. On 31 May, the same will go for people from the first 17 member countries of the European Union. However, Bulgarians and Romanians continue to be subject to an authorisation regime as their countries joined the EU later. The Swiss Federal Council is due to take a decision about them by the end of May. New quotas have also been introduced for Croatians (see other article). All other Europeans can again settle in Switzerland as they wish in order to take up a job.
The reintroduction of the safeguard clause hitting citizens from the 15 “older” states of the EU, as well as Cyprus and Malta, has had minimal effect on immigration. It has prevented the arrival of a few thousand people. In all, the quotas have allowed the arrival of 53,700 people. In total, nearly 1.3 million EU citizens currently live in Switzerland. Together with the frontier workers - who are not affected by the clause - “they contribute widely to the prosperity of our country and to job creation”, according to the Federal Council. (LC)