Switzerland will vote to limit its population to 10 million in a referendum promoted by the extreme right

The plan also contemplates that if the population reached 10 million, new restrictions would be activated and, if the figure did not begin to decrease in the following two years, the Government would be forced to abandon the free movement agreement with the European Union. Although Switzerland is not part of the community bloc, the EU is its main export market. Furthermore, once this threshold is exceeded, the plan contemplates that people provisionally admitted will no longer be granted a residence or establishment permit, swiss citizenship nor any other right of residence.

At the moment, both houses of Parliament, the rest of the federal Government (made up of a total of four parties) They have recommended rejecting the voteaccording to local media. According to The Guardiandetractors also include major multinationals who argue that the proposal would jeopardize bilateral agreements with the EU, including the one reached last year to improve access to the single market.

Around the 27% of residents in Switzerland do not have citizenshipaccording to official figures. The SVP maintains that the “demographic explosion” is driving up rents and overloading infrastructure and public services. “Wherever we look, we see the negative effects of uncontrolled immigration in our country. Schools are overcrowded. Hours of traffic jams and full trains are common. Rents and housing are increasingly expensive,” they defend on their website.

The country registers a high level of immigration and also has one of the highest proportions of foreign residents in Europe. Specifically, 27%, according to official data. Since 2000, its population has increased by around 25%, approximately five times faster than that of neighboring Member States.