Brussels, 12/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - Switzerland will shortly propose a revision to the EU of the agreement on the free movement of people, which has been in force since 2002. This change is being sought in light of the events of 9 February last, which oblige Switzerland to impose limits on European immigration. The EU, however, will not accept any negotiations on quotas for European workers. This is essentially the substance of the discussions that took place in Brussels on Thursday 12 June between Swiss and EU representatives in the 14th Joint Committee on the Free Movement of People meeting.
More than four months after the referendum of 9 February, in which Swiss citizens voted to impose limits on the number of foreign workers and reintroduce quotas from 2017, the two sides again highlighted the incompatibility of the substance of this vote with the free movement agreements that allow for unhindered movement and no work permit obligations for European citizens on the Swiss labour market.
Only a safeguard clause in the event of overheating and too rapid a rise in the numbers of workers arriving is included in the agreement. This clause was activated in May 2013 against workers from 17 member states. 15 of the older member states and Malta and Cyprus, up to 1 June last. Romania and Bulgaria have a different regime and restrictions affecting them on the Swiss labour market have also been extended until May 2016.
The request for renegotiation of the agreement, whose outlines and contents were still not yet been clarified on Thursday, will come after Switzerland's presentation (planned before the summer) on its “concept” for implementing the referendum initiative of 9 February and possibly before this project is sent to the parliament, which is expected next December.
On Thursday, Switzerland was represented by Mario Gattiker, Director of the Federal Migration Office. When asked about this subject, he said that, although the initiative of 9 February had still not had any visible effects, migratory pressure continued to be strong in Switzerland and was rising significantly.
Relations between Switzerland and the EU have become tense following the referendum but certain sections have subsequently been unblocked. These involved the institutional agreement on the recasting of the “bilateral path” and the resumption of discussions on certain agreements, for example, on electricity. Some programmes linked to research and Erasmus, however, still remain blocked, although the Swiss are still unaware of the precise reasons for this. (SP)