EU rejects Swiss caps but no hint of reprisals

EU ambassador Jones says he is optimistic about future ties with Switzerland despite the controversy over immigration quotas Keystone

The European Union’s ambassador to Bern tells swissinfo.ch why he regrets the Swiss cabinet’s controversial decision to extend immigration quotas to 25 EU member states.

Richard Jones also talks about the possible effect on banking secrecy discussions, Swiss anti-EU sentiment and why he thinks a tit-for-tat reaction against Swiss who want to live and work in the EU is unlikely.

Wednesday’s move by the Swiss government comes amid talks between Switzerland and Brussels about the future of bilateral ties. They focus on tax issues and institutional matters. The Swiss decision also comes ahead of nationwide votes on immigration curbs, forced by two separate political groups.

swissinfo.ch: The government has invoked a so-called “safeguard clause” to cap the number of permits handed out to people from the EU. What is your response?

Richard Jones: The European Union regrets the decision. We don’t consider it is justified in terms of the objective economic situation in Switzerland. We also feel that we, together with the Swiss, are moving to a position where we will enjoy complete free movement of persons next year – so it seems a little counterintuitive to introduce new safeguard measures so late in the day.

We also have a problem with the way in which the decision has been arrived at: by creating these groups of member states, the so-called eight and the so-called 17. This sort of differentiation of groups of countries isn’t foreseen in the agreement now, and it actually strikes at the heart of a key principle in how the European Union works: that we are a union; we are united and we don’t differentiate between groups of member states.

Switzerland and the EU

Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but it concluded more than 200 bilateral accords with the 27-nation bloc.

The 1999 free movement of people accord came into force in 2002 and was gradually extended to new EU members, mostly in eastern Europe.

Swiss voters will also have the final say on extending the accord to Croatia, which is set to join the EU in June.

More than 1.2 million people from EU states currently live in Switzerland.

swissinfo.ch: But the measures will apply to the whole EU except for Romania and Bulgaria – so there is no discrimination…

R.J.: It would be a different matter if the figures were being added up for 25 countries together. But that is not the way in which the Federal Council [Swiss cabinet] has done it, and that is something we disagree with.

swissinfo.ch: You mentioned the economic situation in Switzerland, but what about the political situation in Switzerland? Isn’t this decision a signal to the Swiss population that something is being done against immigration?

R.J.: The political discourse between the Swiss government and the Swiss people is not something for me to comment on. But I would say that we are in the last year of the transition period. We all agree that at the end of the transition period next spring there will be no possibility for further safeguard measures – they are not foreseen in the agreement – so we would like to be preparing for that period.

swissinfo.ch: Is it possible that the EU will take similar steps against the Swiss – capping the number of Swiss who can live and work in the EU?

R.J.: The agreement doesn’t foresee that. The agreement foresees Switzerland taking measures against the 25 but not the possibility for the European Union taking measures.

More significantly, the free movement of persons is incredibly important for the European Union – the fact that we have so many Swiss citizens living and working within the member states is extremely good for us and good for Switzerland – they’re making an important contribution to our economic life. I think it would be slightly strange to go down that path.

This might sound slightly flippant, but in any case we would not differentiate between groups of cantons…

swissinfo.ch: Will this decision make discussions more difficult on other issues – such as banking secrecy?

R.J.: The instinct of the institutions is always to judge every dossier on its own merits and not to link apples and pears.

My only pause for thought here is that we don’t know what the ramifications of yesterday’s [Wednesday’s] decision will be with the member states, and it’s worth recording that at the end of the day every agreement has to be approved by the member states. So there is that question mark.

Immigration

Under a key labour accord with Brussels from 1999, Switzerland can invoke a clause limiting immigration from the 27-nation bloc for a limited time if the influx of EU citizens exceeds a certain number.

The Swiss government on Wednesday decided to cap immigration from the group of 17 EU member countries to 53,700 for the next 12 months.

It also continued a cap of 2,180 quota for the group of eight EU members in eastern Europe for another 12 months.

The move comes amid discussions with Brussels about institutional issues and tax matters. Last year, Switzerland curbed immigration from eight mainly eastern European states, prompting angry reaction from the EU.
 
At least two controversial initiatives by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party and environmentalists to curb immigration in Switzerland are pending.

swissinfo.ch: A sizeable number of people in Switzerland support a cap on immigration. How would you convince them they’re wrong?

R.J.: The free movement of persons has been a tremendous success story for Switzerland. It has been a tremendous contributing factor to the economic success that Switzerland has enjoyed over recent years, and I think it’s one of the powerful reasons why Switzerland is relatively well-placed in a very difficult time for the world economically. Last but not least: the free movement of persons enhances the personal freedom of us all.

That said, there are difficulties which go hand in hand with such economic development, and I think there should be a discussion of those difficulties, whether it’s infrastructure – the cost of housing, schools etc. I think we should be focusing on those sort of issues on their own merits rather than seeing everything flowing from the free movement of persons, while simultaneously remembering the benefits the free movement of persons has brought to this country – and also the European Union. It’s been a real win-win situation.

swissinfo.ch: Nevertheless, many Swiss fear the EU. Can you understand this resistance?

R.J.: We in the European Union want to be looking at Switzerland as it is and we need to understand the debate that’s going on in Switzerland and the concerns the Swiss have.

I think, by the same token, that the more these issues are discussed, perhaps the more some of the myths about the European Union itself might be exposed and Swiss fears assuaged. For example, I think there’s sometimes a sense that the whole purpose of the [EU] project is to iron out distinctions between individual countries. That is most definitely not the case. We are 27 member states that are ‘united in diversity’ – as is Switzerland.

swissinfo.ch: You recently said the institutional negotiations were difficult but they were going well. How long will they continue?

R.J.: How long’s a piece of string? I can’t give a definitive answer. All I would say is that both we and our Swiss colleagues in these exploratory talks have been keen to work very fast, and the progress that has been made since the start of the year has been extremely rapid and that we’re keen to maintain that momentum.

swissinfo.ch: And you’re optimistic that a good solution can be found?

R.J.: I think it’s not over until it’s over, but I’m optimistic given the momentum that has been achieved and the atmosphere in which these exploratory talks have been conducted. It is a difficult issue – if it weren’t, we wouldn’t have devoted so many hours to it at such a senior level – and there are no guarantees, but I think the direction of travel is encouraging.