Squeezing out Switzerland’s immigrants
What message do the Swiss send by backing a plan to restrict immigration from the European Union?
People in Switzerland have voted to restrict immigration from European Union countries. In a 50.3 percent vote, they backed a plan supported by right-wing parties that will reintroduce immigration quotas.
The vote also forces the Swiss government to renegotiate a 2007 deal that gave most EU citizens free access to its labour market.
What is the implication of this decision for Switzerland? And is the non-EU member further isolating itself?
Presenter: Shihab Rattansi
Guests: Petros Fassoulas, the chairman of the European Movement and Commentator on EU Affairs
Dominik Hangartner, an associate professor at the London School of Economics’ department of methodology
Ulrich Schuler, an MP for the Swiss People’s Party