GENEVA: The National Party's Foreign Policy Committee believes that the package of agreements between Switzerland and the EU does not require a mandatory referendum. A decision taken by 15 votes to 10, despite the opposition of a minority, mainly the SVP.
But the SVP wants a referendum
The National Party's foreign policy committee believes that the package of agreements between Switzerland and the EU does not require a mandatory referendum. A decision taken by 15 votes to 10, despite the opposition of a minority, mainly the SVP.
The package of agreements between Switzerland and the European Union does not need to be subject to a mandatory referendum, according to the National Party's foreign policy committee. It decided, by 15 votes to 10, to send a letter to the Federal Council to this effect.
The Federal Council will decide on the nature of the referendum when the consultation procedure opens, the Parliament's services recalled on Tuesday. With a view to this decision, the committee heard the thoughts of the director of the Federal Office of Justice Michael Schöll, who presented a legal analysis on the matter.
SVP wants a referendum
The commission concludes that the criteria for submitting to a mandatory referendum are not met for any of the new agreements, nor for any of the updates to an existing agreement with the EU. These agreements do not imply Switzerland's membership of a supranational community, it argues.
A minority, mainly composed of SVP elected representatives, is in favour of a mandatory referendum. It is asking, at the very least, for the issue to be the subject of further studies.
Projects with a mandatory referendum are automatically submitted to a popular vote. This mandatory referendum can be prior or a posteriori, and can also be submitted to the majority of cantons. The optional referendum can be requested by 50,000 citizens with the right to vote or by eight cantons within 100 days of the official publication of the project.
(Blick)
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