A group of citizens from Zurich has launched a people’s initiative calling for a ten-year moratorium on negotiations for Switzerland to join the European Union.
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Supporters, who come from the centre-right, now have till May 2012 to collect the required minimum of 100,000 signatures to put it to a nationwide vote.
The initiative has been formulated in general terms, which means if supported by both houses of parliament, it will be their job to draw up a revision of the constitution and put it to a vote of Swiss citizens and cantons.
If parliament rejects the initiative, it will be put to a vote of the people and if accepted, parliament will work out the project demanded by the initiative.
The Swiss have several times rejected moves to join the EU or a bid to withdraw a shelved application request but have approved wide-ranging bilateral treaties that regulate ties with Brussels.
The government recently stated its priority for bilateral accords but held on to EU membership as an option.
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Switzerland has a turbulent relationship with the European Union. While many Swiss would be happy to join the EU, there are even more who are not interested as nationwide votes have shown in the past. (Keystone)
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