Swiss to Vote Anew on Free Movement With EU
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AP, October 6, 2008
Switzerland will vote again on whether European Union citizens should be allowed to live and work in the country after nationalist groups collected enough signatures to force a referendum, the Federal Chancellery said Monday.
Members of the youth wing of the nationalist Swiss People’s Party, together with the far-right Lega dei Ticinesi and Swiss Democrats, say the vote is aimed at stopping “uncontrolled mass immigration” from Romania and Bulgaria.
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The 50,000-signature petition that forced the referendum was an embarrassment for the Swiss People’s Party, which has distanced itself from the youth wing’s demands.
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All other major political parties said they supported renewing the deal and extending it to the two Eastern European countries.
(Posted on October 8, 2008)