“National and unilateral measures do not solve any challenges, but merely shift responsibility to the external border states. This must be prevented,” a State Secretariat for Migration spokesperson told the Swiss News Agency on Thursday.
The comment by the Swiss agency was in response to a proposal by German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer to boost Germany’s border controls to curb irregular migration.
At its southern border with Italy, Switzerland has a policy of sending back migrants. The Swiss Border Guard says 2,556 persons were handed to “foreign authorities” for the January-May 2018 period from border region IV along the Italian border.
In regions I and II, which skirt the 350-kilometre border with Germany, 2,300 undocumented migrants were caught by the Swiss authorities during the first five months of the year.
Switzerland supports a fair redistribution of migrants in the Schengen states, the Swiss spokesman declared.
“Together with the alignment of material standards in the Dublin States, this is the best way to ensure that the rights of those seeking protection are safeguarded and secondary movements are prevented,” the spokesman said.
The Dublin Regulation lays out the responsibilities of EU member-states in processing asylum applications and the Schengen Agreement allows for passport-free travel within its 26 members, which include Switzerland. Under the Dublin Regulation, the responsible member state is the one through which the asylum seeker first entered the EU. The 28-member bloc is currently struggling to reform this regulation.
More
More
Refugees and locals learn to live together in Swiss town
This content was published on
Bex was one of the first towns in the region to have an asylum seekers’ centre and its foreign population is relatively high. So do people get along?
Swiss price watchdog slams excessive prices for generic medicines
This content was published on
The cheapest generic medicines available in Switzerland are more than twice as expensive as in other countries, according to a study by the Swiss price watchdog.
Nature should not figure in net zero calculations: academic study
This content was published on
The natural removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by forests or oceans should not be included in the net-zero balance of climate protection measures, argue researchers.
This content was published on
None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.
This content was published on
Nestlé's new CEO Laurent Freixe, has presented plans for the future of the world's largest food company, after his first few weeks in office.
Swiss foreign minister calls on Moscow to end Ukraine war
This content was published on
It's high time Moscow ended its war against Ukraine, Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis tells the UN Security Council.
This content was published on
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
Border guards intercept more criminals but fewer illegal migrants
This content was published on
According to information released by the Federal Customs Administration on Thursday, border guards processed 27,300 illegal migrants in 2017 compared to 48,000 the year before. Events in the Mediterranean had a significant impact in the number of arrivals in Ticino and Valais, it said. Of those that arrived, 17,526 were returned to foreign authorities. More…
This content was published on
UN Secretary-General António Guterres explains how migration can benefit the world and what the UN are planning to do to help.
More than 800 crimes committed in Swiss asylum centres
This content was published on
The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has reported that 813 criminal offences were committed in Swiss asylum centres in 2017.
Asylum applications drop by a third in Switzerland
This content was published on
According to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) the decline in applications is largely due to two factors. First, a drop in migration along the central Mediterranean route from mid-July onwards. Second, fewer migrant arrivals from conflict zones like Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, which were quite significant at the beginning of 2016. The majority of…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.