The Swiss government has scheduled a referendum for June 14 in which the population of the European country will decide whether to adopt a limit on the number of inhabitants at 10 million by 2050.
The initiative was proposed by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), a right-wing party that has the largest number of seats in the local Parliament.
According to information from Reuters, the project foresees that the limit of 10 million inhabitants will be adopted by 2050. After that, the limit would be adjusted annually by the Swiss government. Today, Switzerland has around 9 million inhabitants.
According to the proposal, if the population exceeds 9.5 million inhabitants before 2050, permanent residence options for asylum seekers and family members will be restricted.
If the number of inhabitants exceeds 10 million, the Swiss government will be forced to take all possible measures to comply with the limit, including revoking an agreement it has with the European Union on the free movement of people.
“A small economic elite profits from excessive immigration – the majority of the Swiss population suffers”, claimed the SVP, in a post on X in which he defended the approval of the measure.
On the other hand, Swiss civil society entities are expressing concern. In a joint statement, the business association Economisuisse and the Swiss Employers’ Association called the proposal a “chaos initiative” and claimed that, if approved, it would create great difficulties for the country’s economy.
“Our country will continue to depend on labor immigration in the future,” they stated.
