Charlotte de Montpellier, Economist at ING, points out that the Switzerland goes to the polls this Sunday to decide whether Swiss law should take precedence over international treaties.
Key Quotes
“Supporters of the initiative, which was launched by the country’s biggest party, the ultra-conservative and eurosceptic Swiss People’s Party (SVP or UDC), say global agreements should be renegotiated or cancelled if they clash with the results of a domestic referendum.”
“The vote is a consequence of a previous referendum on immigration almost five years ago when a majority of Swiss citizens voted against mass immigration and asked for the introduction of immigration quotas.”
“Such quotas would have been in direct opposition to the international treaties that existed between Switzerland and the European Union. And so after long discussions, and contrary to what was required by the Constitution, the initiative never became law. Instead, the government pushed through regulations giving priority to Swiss-based workers in certain sectors of the economy with the highest unemployment rates.”
“The SVP argues that the Swiss Constitution, which normally requires parliament to turn referendum results into law, has been overruled by international law, and it wants to stop this from happening again.”
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