EU attaches strings to Schengen accord

Ferrero-Waldner has fuelled the debate over Switzerland's ties with the EU Keystone

The European Union says Switzerland can only be part of the passport-free Schengen zone if voters come out in favour of extending an existing labour accord.

The announcement caused irritation among Swiss cabinet ministers and the main political parties.

The announcement by the EU foreign-affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, came one day after Swiss voters endorsed a proposal for closer security and asylum cooperation with Brussels.

Ferrero-Waldner said the outcome of Sunday’s ballot in Switzerland was a very positive sign.

“The Swiss made up their own minds and refused to be influenced by the language of demagogues,” Ferrero-Waldner said at a news conference in Brussels on Monday.

She said she hoped that the electorate would also endorse a proposal to grant access to the Swiss labour market to the ten new EU member states. A vote on the issue is scheduled for September 25.

She added that it would not be possible for Switzerland to join the Europe-wide passport-free zone if the country refused to lift labour restrictions for all EU citizens.

September vote

Ferrero-Waldner said the EU would only ratify the Schengen/Dublin treaties with Switzerland after a vote on extending a 2002 labour accord.

She said failure to endorse the agreement could jeopardise other bilateral accords between Switzerland and Brussels, signed in 2000 and 2004.

Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said security and asylum cooperation could not be directly linked to the upcoming vote on access to the Swiss labour market.

She said the electorate would decide independently and in a democratic way at the ballot box.

Justice Minister Christoph Blocher said he would examine whether legally the two issues were related.

Outcry

The rightwing Swiss People’s Party is accusing Brussels of blackmail. The party, which opposes closer ties with the EU, lost Sunday’s referendum.

It had forced a nationwide vote on the Schengen/Dublin accords, approved by government and parliament, saying they compromised Switzerland’s sovereignty and security.

The three other main political parties said they were surprised by Ferrero-Waldner’s announcement and rejected it as interference in internal affairs.

The People’s Party on Monday also reiterated demands for the government to abandon the long-term goal of Swiss membership of the EU and withdraw the official application filed in 1992.

The application was effectively put on hold in the wake of Swiss voters’ rejection of the European Economic Area Treaty in December 1992.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

Swiss voters on Sunday approved closer security and asylum cooperation with the EU.
On September 25 the Swiss electorate is due to decide on a proposal to extend access to the country’s labour market to include the ten new EU member states.
The agreements are part of two separate sets of bilateral treaties between Switzerland and the EU, signed in 2000 and 2004.