Immigration quotas approved by voters

A controversial anti-immigration initiative won the Swiss electorate’s backing on February 9, 2014. On the same day, voters rejected a proposal that called for abortions to be removed from basic health insurance. In a third vote, the Swiss gave their support to a government plan to boost the funding of railway infrastructure.

Vote February 9, 2014

Foreign workers No quotas, say business leaders

Switzerland’s leading business groups say that strict quotas are not the way to handle last February’s vote to limit immigration.

Human rights ‘In most countries, migrants just disappear’

Scott Capper

As Switzerland prepares to restrict the number of foreigners entering the country, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of ...

Immigration curbs Swiss cabinet admits Croats to labour market

Urs Geiser

The Swiss government has confirmed that Croatian citizens will have access to the Swiss labour market despite voters’ wish to re-introduce ...

Issues at stake - Initiative to limit immigration

Switzerland-EU Prominent Swiss party prepares for new immigration vote

One of Switzerland’s largest and most influential political parties says it may call for a national re-vote on an initiative to curb immigration. ...

Switzerland-EU New immigration vote ‘inevitable’, says EU

swissinfo.ch and agencies

Just over a year after Swiss voters approved an initiative to curb immigration, Brussels’ chief negotiator with Switzerland has rejected ...

Research Swiss sign partial Horizon 2020 deal

Switzerland has signed an agreement in Brussels allowing its researchers to - partially at least - participate in the European research programme ...

Issues at stake - Funding of abortions

Voters’ choice Abortions to remain covered by health insurance

Susan Misicka

Swiss voters have rejected an initiative to drop abortions from basic health insurance. The vote came after conservatives launched an initiative ...

A private or public matter? Voters to decide who pays for abortions

Susan Misicka

Voters are deciding on Sunday whether abortions should be covered by basic health insurance in Switzerland. The vote comes after conservatives ...

Family planning clinic To abort or not, helping women figure it out

Susan Misicka

Deciding whether to go through with an unplanned pregnancy can be difficult. Staff members at a clinic in Bern offer support to women of all ages ...

Issues at stake - Railway infrastructure

Smoother ride? Swiss railways could benefit from fresh cash boost

Christian Raaflaub

Voters have been asked to give the seal of approval to a wide-ranging package that would put future Swiss railway infrastructure investments on a ...

Bombardier New trains in million-franc legal dispute

Bombardier Transportation is demanding a reported CHF326 million ($360 million) from Swiss Federal Railways in connection with the biggest rolling ...

On track Swiss defend global rail record

Despite a decrease in mileage on the previous year, Switzerland remains the most train-loving nation in the world – with the average resident ...

In pictures Cartoonists unimpressed by immigration vote

The decision by 50.3% of Swiss voters to limit the number of foreigners allowed into Switzerland is an own goal that has only made the country ...

Switzerland’s direct democracy How the Swiss political system works

Michele Andina

Together with neutrality and federalism, direct democracy is a part of the Swiss national identity and helps unite the various languages, ...

Democracy in action Going to the polls

A vote weekend in Switzerland - ballots are cast at local, cantonal and national levels. Swiss citizens are called to cast their votes several ...

Quicklinks Vote February 9, 2014

Focus

Ice discovery
Mummified bodies found in Swiss glacier

End in sight?
Geoblocking restricts online shoppers in Switzerland

Price comparison
Switzerland vs France – the shopping basket price challenge

Health policy
Should anti-perspirants bear warning labels?

in depth
Switzerland: How To

'Together'
Quiz app decodes daily life in Switzerland

in depth
Asylum in Switzerland - A safe haven

Function	Example	Search result
Search for exact term	"money-laundering", "Roger Federer"	Results include exact spellings of "money-laundering" and "Roger Federer"
Search for all terms	Roger Federer	Results include "Roger" and "Federer"
Either-or search	money-laundering	Results include "money" or "laundering"
Search for one term and not the other	money -laundering	Results include "money" but NOT "laundering"
Search for word stem	sun*	Results include words with the same base like "sun", "suns", "sunshine", "sunny"
Search with placeholder for letter	wom*n	Results include all possible words: "woman", "women"

Immigration quotas approved by voters

Vote February 9, 2014

Foreign workers No quotas, say business leaders

Human rights ‘In most countries, migrants just disappear’

Immigration curbs Swiss cabinet admits Croats to labour market

International Geneva Immigration vote leaves foreigners mired in confusion

Split nation Immigration vote result highlights Swiss unease

EU immigration Germany’s president questions Swiss voting system

Financial concerns Immigration vote weighs on economic forecast

Company concerns Financial officers worried by immigration vote

Princeton economist Quotas: good for trade, good for migrants?

Erasmus, Horizon, Media Cabinet offers stopgap for EU research funding

Issues at stake - Initiative to limit immigration

Switzerland-EU Prominent Swiss party prepares for new immigration vote

Switzerland-EU New immigration vote ‘inevitable’, says EU

Research Swiss sign partial Horizon 2020 deal

Immigration vote Foreign students stay away from Switzerland

Quotas and questions Swiss agree to curb immigration and rethink EU deal

The nation votes Anti-migration initiatives have long tradition

Free movement of workers EU migrants seen as social system freeloaders

Same but indifferent How Swiss and British migration debates differ

Switzerland-EU Anti-immigration vote challenges EU relations

Free movement Making a bad housing situation worse

Issues at stake - Funding of abortions

Voters’ choice Abortions to remain covered by health insurance

A private or public matter? Voters to decide who pays for abortions

Family planning clinic To abort or not, helping women figure it out

Abandoned newborns Number of ‘baby-hatches’ grows despite controversy

Termination of pregnancy Swiss to vote on funding of abortion

Fertility matters The secret of Switzerland’s low abortion rate

Decision time First-hand accounts of abortion

Anti-abortion initiative Cabinet defends insurance coverage of abortions

Low Swiss abortion rate runs counter to norm

No increase in abortions after law change

Issues at stake - Railway infrastructure

Smoother ride? Swiss railways could benefit from fresh cash boost

Bombardier New trains in million-franc legal dispute

On track Swiss defend global rail record

Train travel First-ever drop in Swiss rail passengers

Track troubles Swiss rail accidents raise safety questions

Bottlenecks The curse of popular public transport

To the second The Swiss timetable is due to meticulous planning

Bigger, faster, longer Rail network modernises to stay on track

Swiss trains are victim of own success

Are Swiss trains on the right tourist track?

Additional content about the topic

In pictures Cartoonists unimpressed by immigration vote

Switzerland’s direct democracy How the Swiss political system works

Democracy in action Going to the polls

Quicklinks Vote February 9, 2014

Focus