The government has decided to set up a taskforce for asylum matters and to devise an emergency policy to deal with a possible massive influx of asylum seekers.
Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said the aim was to ensure that “Switzerland is well prepared for extraordinary situations”, notably up to 700 additional asylum requests per month.
However, she stressed that the current state of affairs was perfectly normal and the predicted massive influx of asylum seekers from North African countries had not materialised yet.
“The measures are not for the present day but for the future,” she told the media after Wednesday’s regular cabinet meeting.
The taskforce, made up of at least 15 experts from various ministries and the cantons, will act as a strategic advisory body for the government and is part of the policy plan. The policy plan is to be ready by autumn.
Sommaruga pointed out that the two new measures are not linked to a report aimed at speeding up the asylum procedure, which won approval by a parliamentary commission on Monday.
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.
Read more
More
Minister seeks to speed up asylum procedure
This content was published on
A parliamentary committee and a refugee group have come out in favour of the latest proposal, but the rightwing Swiss People’s Party said it was ineffectual and the media seems unconvinced. Following a meeting with a Senate committee on Monday, which unanimously approved the measures, Sommaruga said the aim was to process most asylum applications…
This content was published on
The issue came to a head this week with police in Neuchâtel forced to intervene when members of a group of 31 claimants refused to move from hostel housing to a bunker which had been opened to make way for new arrivals. “It’s true that it’s a civil protection measure which by definition does not…
This content was published on
But in an interview with swissinfo.ch, Denise Efionayi-Mäder of the Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies at Neuchâtel University warns against overreacting. She points out that Europe must not forget the urgent needs of the people in the countries hit by unrest. With the fall of long-standing regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and what…
This content was published on
His moving images of refugees turn our attention to a problem becoming ever more noticeable in Switzerland. Over several months, Pulawski documented the hardships of newly-arrived asylum seekers arriving at the Italian-speaking border town of Chiasso from Italy.
This content was published on
The southern Italian island of Lampedusa has been overwhelmed with Tunisians and other Africans trying to reach Europe in the aftermath of the Tunisian revolution.
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.