The Swiss government, in response to February’s referendum result, is currently in talks with the European Union about how to enforce immigration quotas that will limit the number of EU citizens allowed to enter the country for work purposes each year. But this is not enough, according to Christopher Blocher, the vice-president of the far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP) - the country’s biggest party.
Blocher announced plans to launch a new initiative to ensure Switzerland applies the immigration quotas.
“Switzerland applied quotas from 1970 to 2002,” Blocher, a former cabinet minister, told the Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper. “The model functioned well. Immigration was reduced despite the growth in the economy — and wages rose.”
In another interview with the Zentralschweiz am Sonntag newspaper, Blocher claimed Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga, who is responsible for immigration, “does not want to negotiate with the party (the SVP) that represents the views of the majority of citizens”. This is why Blocher said his party will launch its own initiative.
The EU, however, has warned Switzerland that quotas serving to end the freedom of movement of workers (based on an agreement with the EU that was signed in 2007), will put at risk other bilateral agreements.