It said it wanted to wait for parliamentary debates on the issue during the forthcoming winter session before giving the migration pact its final blessing, according to a statement published on Wednesday.
However, the government maintains that the agreement is consistent with Switzerland’s interests, “as it aims to reduce irregular migration by setting benchmarks for orderly migration practices.”
In October, the government announced that it planned to adopt the pact with certain caveats, saying Switzerland’s migration policy already implemented the recommendations. It added that the treaty would be put to parliament for consultation as required by law.
However, the government has rejected proposals to let parliament have the final say on the issue.
The non-binding pact has prompted criticism from various political parties in the Swiss parliament, notably from the right. They argue the treaty would undermine Switzerland’s independence.
In several other countries the pact has drawn opposition from nationalists.
The United States, Hungary, Austria, Israel and Poland have said they won’t back the treaty. An intergovernmental conference in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on December 10-11 is due to approve the accord.
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Swiss ambassador defends UN migration pact
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Swiss Ambassador Pietro Mona has defended the UN migration pact despite fierce criticism from parliament.
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
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Shopping around the clock, even on Sundays and public holidays: retailer Migros is planning Switzerland's first Migros supermarket with continuous opening hours in Herisau.
More and more unexploded army ordnance found in Swiss hiking regions
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More and more unexploded ordnance is being defused in Switzerland. Thanks to over a thousand tips from the public, the army neutralised 273 such munitions last year, 26% more than the long-term average.
World Expo: Swiss present robot-controlled wedding cake with edible battery
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Confectioners and scientists from Switzerland and Italy and have created a robot-controlled, edible wedding cake, "RoboCake".
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The traditional Olma pig race is not a sporting event and may therefore not be authorised by the city of St Gallen under the title of sports betting, says the intercantonal gambling watchdog.
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The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has filed charges against a 21-year-old Swiss national with the Federal Criminal Court for a planned jihad trip.
First asparagus of the year harvested in Swiss fields
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The first Swiss asparagus this year have been harvested. Before Easter, however, there are still not enough for large-scale distributors.
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Transaction prices for owner-occupied homes in Switzerland rose slightly in the first quarter of 2025. Demand is being supported in particular by mortgage rates, which remain low.
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.
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Swiss president praises UN migration deal
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Berset, who co-presented the plan with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, called it a “great triumph of cooperation in multilateral diplomacy that the negotiations on the pact will bear fruit in these difficult times”. Berset, the Swiss home affairs minister who also holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, praised the pact on Wednesday as…
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Three recent Swiss diplomatic controversies have raised questions about whether the country can still be considered a moral voice in world affairs.
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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.