Swiss Lean in Favor of EU Deal After Dismissing Population Cap
(Bloomberg) — Swiss voters are more inclined to back closer ties with the European Union than reject it, a poll showed in the wake of a plebiscite that had threatened to upend the relationship.
The survey released Tuesday showed 46% of respondents support or lean toward supporting a set of agreements with the EU. Some 40% oppose or lean toward rejecting the pacts intended to put relations on a firmer footing, according to the study commissioned by newspaper group Tamedia/20 Minuten.
The result reaffirms the view that a majority of Swiss voters don’t want to sacrifice the country’s ties with the bloc that surrounds it to calm discomfort over high immigration. The EU is Switzerland’s largest trading partner by far and offers a large talent pool that Swiss companies regularly tap.
The poll is still only an early indication of sentiment in a debate that is likely to intensify before a vote on the EU accords expected next year or in 2028. That is set to become the next major test of Switzerland’s willingness to keep its economy open.
The government wants the agreements to stabilize relations after years of bilateral struggles, while the right-wing Swiss People’s Party calls it a “subjugation treaty.”
On Sunday, 45% of voters sided with the group in demanding a cap on the country’s population, a proposal that was set to hurt ties with the EU. Some 1.5 million backed the measure, more than double the votes garnered by the SVP in the last general election.
After the defeat, the party vowed to continue fighting what it sees as a misguided immigration policy of the government.
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