Ursula Von Der Leyen, President of the European Commission -

Olivier HOSLET / EPA / AFP

The Swiss have overwhelmingly said no to restricting immigration to EU nationals, much to the relief of business circles, and voted in favor of a two-week paternity leave when young fathers don't until now were only entitled to a day or two.

Voters rejected by 61.7% the popular initiative launched by the populist right of the SVP, the country's largest party, which denounces "uncontrolled and disproportionate immigration" and considers jobs threatened by the Agreement on free movement of persons (ALCP) signed in 1999 with the European Union (EU).

This result is all the more telling given that the participation rate was very high, around 59%.

"Positive signal"

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the Swiss vote as a “positive signal”.

If the polls suggested that the SVP's lone rider was doomed to failure, the result was nonetheless the most anticipated among a whole series of subjects on which the Swiss had to vote on Sunday, such as the tradition of voting wants it.

All other parties and business circles were strongly in favor of open borders with an EU which is Switzerland's most important trading partner.

And the Swiss border regions depend heavily on labor coming from neighboring countries in the tens of thousands every day.

However, this yes does not mean that relations with the EU are cloudless.

For several years, Brussels has wanted to conclude an institutional framework agreement with Bern to simplify bilateral relations.

This agreement is far from being unanimous, on the left as on the right.

The UDC intends to "ensure that we do not enter the European Union little by little," said Céline Amaudruz, one of the party officials on the public channel RTS.

Conversely, the leader of the Socialist parliamentary group in Parliament Roger Nordmann believes that the Swiss have signaled their attachment to bilateral relations, which have worked well for 20 years.

“Switzerland is now sending a strong signal to Europe,” he told RTS.

Doting father

Moreover, the broad yes (60.3%) to the referendum on paternity leave allows Switzerland to catch up a little of its delay vis-à-vis its peers in Europe.

"Paternity leave finally has more time than a move," said Adrian Wüthrich, member of the paternity leave committee.

If since 2005, the law grants working mothers 14 weeks of paid leave after the birth of a child, fathers were only entitled to one or two days if they are employed.

And nothing for the independents.

"This result shows that society has evolved and that the time has passed for a model where women must stay at home", underlines Philippe Gnaegi, director of Pro Familia, a group of family organizations, cited by the ATS agency.

After countless attempts, the federal parliament adopted in September 2019 a two-week paternity leave.

The Swiss had to vote in a referendum

The Swiss, on the other hand, rejected by 51.9% a revision of the hunting law adopted by the Parliament in the face of the increase in the number of wolves, according to the latest projection of the polling institute gfs.bern.

The cantons can currently authorize firing when a wolf causes significant damage, but the revision would have made it possible to act preventively.

World

Coronavirus: EU calls on states to toughen up measures against second wave

World

Belarus: EU refuses to recognize Lukashenko as president despite swearing in

  • Referendum

  • Immigration

  • Swiss

  • Paternity leave

  • World