Brussels, 21/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - Swiss voters are expected to reject a project on 30 November to limit immigration to 0.2% of the population each year, as well as a project to abolish tax packages for rich foreigners, according to a recent poll reported on by Swiss media.
Ten days away from the vote, the latest poll from gfs.bern shows a clear trend in favour of rejecting the “Halt to overpopulation” initiative, known as Ecopop, and of a refusal to abolish tax packages. According to the poll, 56% would reportedly reject it, with the “yes” camp gaining 4% since the previous poll published on 24 October. The latest poll was conducted among 1,400 people on 7-15 November.
This initiative, rejected by all the parties, the government and the economic world, states that it wants to take action to defend the environment and maintain natural resources. It would limit the number of immigrants into Switzerland to 17,000 per year, jeopardising the functioning of the economy, which employs many foreigners. The initiative is often described by its opponents as “racist” because it also calls for Swiss development aid to be reserved for financing a limit on births. The Swiss nevertheless approved an initiative on 9 February to set up quotas for foreigner workers by 2017 - including European workers. The initiative has darkened relations between Switzerland and the EU. (SP)