Radicals support closer ties with EU
The centre-right Radical Party has voted in favour of closer cooperation with the European Union on security and asylum.
Party delegates have also come out in support of opening the Swiss labour market to citizens of the ten new European Union member states.
The Radicals, who are one of the country’s four main political parties, voted overwhelmingly on Saturday in favour of the Schengen/Dublin accord on cross-border crime and asylum.
Delegates said closer ties with the EU on security and asylum were a necessity.
The Schengen/Dublin treaty forms part of the second set of bilateral treaties with the EU, which were approved by parliament in December.
Delegates at the meeting in Solothurn in northwestern Switzerland also endorsed the package as a whole.
The Schengen accord is being challenged by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party, which claims it threatens the country’s sovereignty.
The party has begun collecting the 50,000 signatures it needs to force a nationwide vote, which is likely to take place later this year.
Border controls
Parliamentarian Gerold Bührer rubbished People’s Party claims that Schengen would lead to the scrapping of border controls and allow criminals to cross freely into Switzerland.
“Customs officers will always have the right to ask for identity papers and to carry out checks on anyone they deem suspicious,” he said.
He also dismissed rightwing claims that Schengen was an attempt to push through full EU membership via the backdoor.
“The Radical Party supports the bilateral process, but not as a means for joining the EU,” added Bührer.
Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz insisted that the accords were not an attack on the country’s sovereignty, direct democracy, federalism or financial centre.
Labour market
Radical Party delegates also voted overwhelmingly in favour of extending an existing agreement on the free movement of people to the ten new EU member states.
Parliament approved government plans to open the labour market in December, after agreeing to introduce additional measures to counter the threat of wage dumping.
The decision faces opposition from the People’s Party, some sections of the Left and the far-right Swiss Democrats, who announced earlier this month that they would be asking voters to reject the government’s plans.
Opponents claim that opening the Swiss labour market will increase unemployment and put pressure on the social-security system.
swissinfo with agencies
The far-right Swiss Democrats and some sections of the Left are opposing plans to open the Swiss labour market to workers from the ten new EU member states.
The Schengen/Dublin accord on cross-border crime and asylum is being challenged by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party.
Opponents have until March 31 to gather the required number of signatures to force nationwide votes on both issues.
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