On Sunday, the deputy leader of Germany’s CDU/CSU parliamentary group told the NZZ am Sonntag paper that reports of Swiss border guards allowing asylum seekers to pass through Switzerland to reach their preferred destinations – such as France or Germany – was a case of “national egoisms [which] are damaging the Schengen Area”.
Andrea Lindholz was specifically referring to the situation at Switzerland’s eastern border, where up to 1,000 migrants per week, mostly young Afghans, are currently arriving but not applying for asylum.
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‘Switzerland is violating the Dublin accords by letting migrants pass through’
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The Swiss government should work out a common migration policy with its neighbours, says expert Etienne Piguet.
Keller-Sutter rejected the idea that letting the migrants move onwards amounts to a flouting of the “Dublin” rules of asylum for the 26 Schengen states: “if these people don’t apply for asylum, and simply travel onwards, then there is no Dublin process,” Keller-Sutter told Swiss public television SRF. Police can carry out checks, but cannot detain the migrants, she said.
Keller-Sutter added on Monday that she had also since contacted the German interior minister, who was for her part “a bit surprised” about the criticism reported in the Swiss press; notably, a spokesperson for the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had also told the NZZ am Sonntag that the Swiss practice was a violation of the rules.
Germany and Switzerland continue to cooperate well and to work together to tackle illegal migration, Keller-Sutter said.
Dublin difficulties
Dublin rules say the Schengen state responsible for processing an asylum application is generally the country of “the first point of irregular entry”. However, since 2015 and the large numbers of migrants arriving in Europe, policymakers in Brussels have been trying to reform the process to reduce the burden on border states like Greece and Italy and to redistribute the migrants more equitably across Europe.
In mid-October, the number of irregular crossings into the European Union reached its highest level since 2016, the European border security agency Frontex said.
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Swiss migration authorities struggling with ‘overlapping crises’
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The Swiss migration head says federal asylum centres are full and the situation is unprecedented since the Second World War.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
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The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
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The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
OECD: Sluggish economic activity slowing growth in Switzerland
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Sluggish economic activity at the start of the year is weighing on growth in Switzerland, with GDP expected to fall to 1.1% in 2024.
Report finds mistakes which led to Swiss government data breach
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Mistakes were made by both the government and internet company Xplain in the case of a criminal cyber-attack on the Bern-based IT business.
Swiss government wants better gender balance in federal administration
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New Swiss government personnel management targets say there must be even more female managers in the federal administration.
Swiss national science foundation funded over 5,000 projects in 2023
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In 2023, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provided a total of CHF961 million worth of funding towards research projects.
Switzerland invites 160 delegations to June Ukraine peace talks
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Russia is currently not among the delegations invited to talks aimed at helping bring about peace in the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine.
Survey: air travel most popular way to go on holidays for Swiss
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Despite the climate crisis, flying is the most popular mode of transport for private travel – particularly among young, urban and high-income travellers.
Swiss government to use phone data to identify asylum seekers
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From April 2025, authorities plan to be able to analyse data from mobile phones, computers and other data carriers to identify asylum seekers.
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.
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How welcoming is Switzerland for refugees?
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Besides geography, politics and the solidarity of the population play a decisive role in determining which countries people flee to.
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.