Federal vote on the continuation of the free movement of persons and its extension to Romania and Bulgaria

Voting slip for voting

In the vote on the continuation of the free movement of persons and its extension to Romania and Bulgaria , the Swiss voters voted on February 8, 2009 whether they would like to accept the federal resolution of June 13, 2008. The federal decree approves the continuation of the agreement on the free movement of persons between Switzerland and the European Community and its member states as well as its extension to the new member states of the European Union , Romania and Bulgaria . The Swiss voters voted in an optional referendum because an alliance of several parties and groups had called the referendum against the parliamentary decision. The referendum came about with 51,348 valid signatures. With around 59.62 percent, the Swiss electorate voted for the continuation and expansion of the free movement of persons .

The opponents of the vote and parties that took the referendum - above all the Junge SVP , the Lega dei Ticinesi , the Swiss Democrats , the Young4FUN.ch  - had accused the Federal Council above all of the fact that the "Päckli" vote ( Swiss German for " Package ”) is undemocratic, because the question of the continuation and expansion of the agreement was linked to a single vote. They believed that the guillotine clause of the bilateral treaty package would not automatically trigger a non-acceptance of the free movement of persons for Bulgaria and Romania, or that renegotiations with the EU could have been carried out before it was triggered. In addition, they cited possible unemployment, poverty in Romania and Bulgaria, the wage pressure of the incoming foreign workers and the possible crime as arguments and advertised with slogans such as “East immigration no!”.

The SVP was a special case : Originally, the SVP leadership wanted to hold a referendum. However, because Christoph Blocher spoke out in favor of continuing the free movement of persons, a referendum was not held and the collection of signatures was left to the Young SVP and the Swiss Democrats. On October 29, however, the SVP party leadership announced that it would recommend a “No” to the proposal on the continuation and expansion of the free movement of persons with the European Union. During the voting campaign, the SVP advertised with posters showing three ravens hacking at Switzerland and the slogan “Free pass for everyone? - No ». It made use of antigypsy clichés (“flood”, “migration of peoples”). However, Roma from Romania and Bulgaria no longer need a visa to enter Switzerland.

Although the SVP had lost the fourth European political vote in a row, it announced a popular initiative aimed at restricting the free movement of people in times when the economy is not doing well. In July 2011, it launched the federal popular initiative “Against mass immigration” , which was submitted in February 2012 with the necessary number of signatures. In the vote on February 9, 2014, this initiative was accepted with 50.3 percent of the vote.

On the supportive side were the Federal Council parties FDP , CVP and SP , as well as the Green Party of Switzerland and the business association economiesuisse . Proponents used the argument that the Free Movement of Persons Agreement was necessary for the economy. With the slogan “Tried and tested bilaterals”, they argued that only acceptance of the draft would guarantee the bilateral treaties I , since a rejection due to the so-called guillotine clause would result in an automatic dissolution of the entire treaty package. The Federal Council recommended that the citizens approve the proposal.

Voting result

Results by status (cantons):

Yes (19 ½ stands)

No (3 ½ stands)

	Canton	Yes (%)	No (%)	Participation
	Aargau	55.52	44.48	50.32
	Appenzell Ausserrhoden	57.31	42.69	53.40
	Appenzell Innerrhoden	46.65	53.35	47.25
	Basel-Country	63.26	36.74	50.64
	Basel city	66.84	33.16	56.50
	Bern	62.88	37.12	45.79
	Freiburg	64.50	35.50	49.47
	Geneva	62.40	37.60	54.80
	Glarus	48.99	51.01	54.10
	Grisons	59.35	40.65	45.69
	law	66.85	33.15	50.00
	Lucerne	58.09	41.91	51.15
	Neuchâtel	69.36	30.64	55.16
	Nidwalden	50.26	49.74	58.04
	Obwalden	52.28	47.72	54.37
	Schaffhausen	54.25	45.75	68.19
	Schwyz	43.43	56.57	54.40
	Solothurn	57.82	42.18	50.42
	St. Gallen	55.62	44.38	51.20
	Ticino	34.21	65.79	56.30
	Thurgau	56.56	43.44	49.00
	Uri	51.84	48.16	43.96
	Vaud	70.15	29.85	53.78
	Valais	59.61	40.39	57.27
	train	59.23	40.77	50.84
	Zurich	61.86	38.14	52.02
	Swiss Confederation	59.62	40.38	52.66

See also

• Bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU

Individual evidence

1. ↑ cf. Rohr, Mathieu von: Swiss confirm close partnership with the EU with surprisingly clear clarity in Spiegel Online , February 8, 2009 (accessed February 8, 2009)
2. ^ SVP now against the free movement of people. In: NZZ Online. Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG, October 29, 2008, accessed on February 9, 2009 . 
3. ↑ Philipp Mäder: SVP stirs up fear of Roma and the Balkans. Tagesanzeiger , May 28, 2008, archived from the original on October 5, 2012 ; Retrieved July 9, 2010 . 
4. ↑ Roland Schlumpf: Will the Roma soon invade? Tagesanzeiger , January 30, 2008, archived from the original on December 10, 2008 ; Retrieved July 9, 2010 . 
5. ↑ The "plucked" SVP is now relying on a new initiative. (No longer available online.) Südostschweiz Mediengruppe, February 9, 2009, formerly in the original ; Retrieved February 9, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.