The starting signal for the border protection initiative should be given in March: the SVP wants to restrict immigration

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The SVP’s plans for a border protection initiative are becoming concrete. Last November, the Blick party announced a new popular initiative that aims to limit immigration. The text of the initiative will now be presented to the delegate meeting in March, the newspapers of “CH Media” report.

It was already known that the SVP wanted to use the referendum to respond to the demand previously expressed in parliament for the reintroduction of systematic border controls. But that is not everything. As is now known, the party also wants to include various other demands in the initiative.

5,000 asylum applications per year

The SVP also wants to stipulate in the constitution that in the future a maximum of 5,000 asylum applications may be granted per year. In 2023, approximately 30,000 asylum applications were submitted, of which approximately 5,500 were granted. Over the past ten years, the number of asylum applications has fluctuated between almost 5,000 and 6,400.

In addition, people entering Switzerland from a safe third country will not be allowed to enter Switzerland in the future and not apply for asylum. All EU and EFTA states and therefore all neighboring countries of Switzerland are considered safe third countries.

According to the SVP, the ‘provisionally admitted’ status should also be abolished. This is given to people whose asylum application has been rejected, but whose return to their home country is not permissible, unreasonable or not possible under international law. What should happen to people who cannot be deported, for example, remains unclear.

No more Schengen/Dublin

Finally, the initiative stipulates that international agreements must be renegotiated if they are incompatible with the initiative. If this is not successful within a year and a half, it must be terminated. This passage is aimed at the Schengen/Dublin Agreement, which regulates responsibility for asylum seekers.

The SVP’s demands are not new. But because such proposals have been rejected in parliament or have no chance, they are now – again – trying to put pressure on the initiative. (lha)

Source:Blick