Swiss-EU Deal Needs Change of Constitution, Bern Lawmakers Say
(Bloomberg) — A deal revamping Swiss relations with the European Union requires a constitutional amendment, according to a panel of lawmakers whose views hint at the hurdles the agreement will face.
The decision of the Upper House’s Political Institutions Committee in Bern, announced in a statement on Wednesday, highlights just how controversial the accord is in Switzerland given local fears of increased immigration from the bloc. If Parliament were to concur, a high bar to any changes in the constitution could end up scuppering the whole deal.
The string of new bilateral accords concluded in March after years of talks is meant to put relations between the Swiss and the EU, which almost entirely surrounds the country, on a firmer footing.
The panel of lawmakers split 6-6 in its decision on the need for constitutional ratification, an impasse resolved with a tie-breaking vote by its president. While that was just the first step in a presumably lengthy legislative process, it offers an early glimpse of how fraught approval might turn out to be.
If Parliament were to agree on the need to change the constitution, ratification would then require not only a majority of the Swiss people to agree, but also majorities in more than half of the country’s cantons, or states. That makes approval unlikely, since support from the more pro-EU urban electorate could then be effectively side-stepped by opposition in rural areas.
Relations with the EU are a contentious issue in Switzerland, where right-wing parties argue that closer ties with Brussels will lead to the import of the bloc’s bureaucracy and threaten sovereignty, as well as opening the doors to more jobseekers.
Immigration is a hot topic at present in particular. Swiss voters are potentially leaning toward backing a popular initiative next month on a cap of 10 million for a country where more than 9 million people already live.
The decision by lawmakers follows a push by three private equity billionaires who founded Partners Group Holding AG who are backing a campaign to tighten the rules for the vote. They succeeded in collecting more than 100,000 signatures in support of that.
A plebiscite on the deal is expected to take place in 2027 or 2028. The final rules for the vote will be determined by both chambers of Parliament.
Switzerland’s government and the European Commission shook hands on the deal in 2024 and formally signed it this year, but under Swiss direct democracy, the plebiscite is necessary for ratification. Ministers have urged voters to back the agreement, calling it a “strategic necessity” for the country.
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