“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?
High-net-worth individuals prioritise well-being over material possessions
This content was published on
The priorities of wealthy private individuals have shifted against the backdrop of ongoing geopolitical tensions and trade disputes. While spending on luxury goods is declining, demand for travel and experiences is unabated.
Swiss researchers sequence genome of 1918 Spanish flu virus
This content was published on
Researchers from the Universities of Basel and Zurich (UZH) have sequenced the genome of the Spanish flu virus, thanks to a sample taken from an 18-year-old Swiss boy who died in the city on the Limmat in 1918, when the pandemic spread around the world.
Swiss martyr beatified in Barcelona by Catholic Church
This content was published on
François-Benjamin May (1870-1909), a member of the Marist Brothers congregation, has been recognised as a 'blessed' by the Catholic Church.
Prevention and tech could help save billions on Swiss healthcare costs, says Deloitte
This content was published on
By focusing on prevention and technology, it would be possible to reduce Switzerland's healthcare bill by CHF30 billion a year by 2040, according to Deloitte Switzerland.
Environment director warns of increasing climate-related risks in Switzerland
This content was published on
The director of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has warned of increasing climate-related risks in Switzerland in an interview with SonntagsBlick on Sunday.
Gotthard traffic queue hits 11km at start of holiday season
This content was published on
The start of the summer holidays saw a long traffic jam in front of the Gotthard tunnel on Saturday. Traffic jams between Erstfeld and Göschenen in canton Uri were up to 11 kilometres long early in the morning.
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.