Schengen set to scrape through at the polls

It the exit polls are proved right, border controls will be a thing of the past Keystone

Exit polls suggest the Swiss have given their approval to closer cooperation with the European Union over security and aslyum.

According to the GfS polling institute, the Swiss also backed a proposal on legalising same-sex partnerships in voting on Sunday.

Bern-based GfS, which analyses polling data on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, estimated support for joining the EU Schengen and Dublin accords at around 53 per cent.

It said projections showed around 59 per cent of the electorate had backed the gay-partnership proposal, with 41 per cent against.

GfS statistics showed a majority of cantons in favour of the gay-rights legislation, with opposition concentrated in the mainly Roman Catholic central and southern regions.

Turnout was above average, at around 58 per cent.

Schengen and Dublin

Joining the Schengen area would mean Switzerland agreeing to abandon systematic identity checks on its borders. In return the country would gain access to a Europe-wide electronic database on wanted and missing persons, illegal immigrants and property.

By signing up to the Dublin accord, the Swiss would be party to an agreement allowing member countries to turn away asylum seekers who had already filed a request in another signatory country.

Both accords – part of a second series of bilateral treaties with the EU – were approved by the Swiss government and parliament last year.

The rightwing Swiss People’s Party and the isolationist Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland led opposition to Schengen/Dublin, collecting enough signatures to force a nationwide vote on the issue.

They argued that joining the passport-free zone would trigger an influx of foreign criminals to the county and would compromise Switzerland’s sovereignty.

Supporters said participation in the Schengen Information System (SIS) and the European fingerprint database for asylum seekers, Eurodac, would make Switzerland a more secure place and help reduce the number of asylum applications.

It was also argued that the Schengen three-month visa would give a boost to Swiss tourism.

Gay partnership

If the proposal to register same-sex partnerships is approved, gay couples would receive the same legal rights as married couples in the areas of pensions, inheritance and taxes. But unlike married couples they would not be allowed to adopt children or have access to fertility treatment.

Same-sex unions would be considered legally binding and could only be dissolved by a court.

The law, which would bring Switzerland into line with neighbouring Germany and France, was passed by parliament last year.

It was opposed by a small conservative religious party, the Federal Democratic Union, which collected enough votes to force a referendum.

Registered partnerships already exist at a regional level in cantons Zurich, Geneva and Neuchâtel.

swissinfo

Key facts

Switzerland would only be the third non-EU member state to join the Schengen and Dublin agreements on closer police and asylum cooperation.
The treaties are part of a second set of bilateral accords with the EU.
The rightwing Swiss People’s Party challenged the treaties to a nationwide vote.


The law on same sex partnerships would bring Switzerland into line with neighbouring Germany and France.
Gay couples in Switzerland would receive some of the same legal rights as married couples, but they would not be allowed to adopt children.
Registered partnerships already exist in three cantons in Switzerland.