The EU is heading towards a major political clash with Switzerland if the Alpine country’s government persists with imposing restrictions on the free movement of EU citizens following a referendum.

Last Sunday, following a nationwide poll called by the Swiss right wing, 50.3 per cent voted in favour to bring back strict quotas for immigration from EU countries.

With tens of thousands of Italians, Germans and French travelling to Switzerland every day, some of them for work, the European Commission yesterday made it clear that free movement of people – one of the bloc’s main pillars – is not up for negotiation.

The Commission said the review of the overall relations with the EU will have to be considered if the Swiss legislate according to the result of the referendum.

The result brought the condemnation of all major EU players, with EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding saying the single market “is not Swiss cheese – you cannot have a single market with holes in it”.

With the issue dominating the Commission’s daily press briefing in Brussels yesterday, Commission spokesperson Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said: “We will now wait and see how the Swiss government will legislate over this.

“However, the ball is now in Switzerland’s court and we will respond according to what they will decide.

“Free movement is sacred for us and this is the message we are passing.”

Contacted for a reaction, Malta’s Foreign Minister George Vella said the Swiss decision has to be respected.

“This is a decision taken by a sovereign state which has to be respected. It is up to them to determine what type of relations they want with the EU,” he said.

Asked whether this decision will have consequences on the relations between Switzerland and the EU, Dr Vella said it was too early to say.

Decision has to be respected

On the other hand, Roderick Pace – director of the Institute for European Studies at the University of Malta – said Switzerland was heading for trouble and he was sure the EU would retaliate if the Swiss imposed restrictions on free movement.

“The EU cannot tolerate that one of its four freedoms is not respected. This will affect EU citizens directly and member states, particularly those bordering Switzerland, will not tolerate this.”

One of the few non-EU states in Western Europe, Switzerland established a special relationship with the EU, adopting large sections of its policy and practically forming part of its internal market.

Half of Switzerland’s exports are directly with the EU and one of every four residents is an EU citizen.

Campaigning for a revision of relations with the EU, the right-wing Swiss People’s Party blames the 2007 agreement with the EU for putting pressure on housing, health, education and transport services in the country.

They are also arguing that foreign workers are driving Swiss salaries down.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.