National Council rejects systematic identity checks at the border
Published: Thursday, Mar 14th 2024, 13:30
العودة إلى البث المباشر
No systematic identity checks at the Swiss border, and no general refusal of asylum for nationals of Council of Europe countries: on Thursday, the National Council clearly rejected two demands made by the SVP parliamentary group.
The first motion by Thomas Aeschi (SVP/ZG) called for systematic identity checks at the Swiss border in order to turn back people without a valid residence permit or other authorization to enter the country. With a second motion, Alfred Heer (SVP/ZH) wants to call on the Federal Council to take measures to ensure that people from Council of Europe countries can no longer be granted asylum in Switzerland.
The large chamber clearly rejected the two motions - by 112 votes to 69 with 5 abstentions and 120 votes to 65 with 2 abstentions respectively. The motions have therefore been dealt with.
"I no longer understand the world"
The SVP parliamentary group had brought about the extraordinary session entitled "Protecting Switzerland's borders". "The situation is dramatic," said Aeschi. Switzerland registers tens of thousands of illegal border crossings every year. "We have simply lost control." Costs and crime have exploded.
Many people from safe third countries also applied for asylum in Switzerland, Heer noted. The second highest number of asylum applications came from people from Turkey, a member state of the Council of Europe. "I no longer understand the world."
Jans justifies the Federal Council's rejection
Justice Minister Beat Jans requested the rejection of both motions on behalf of the Federal Council. The conditions for the introduction of internal border controls are still not met in Switzerland. Neither public order nor internal security are currently under serious threat. In addition, internal border controls would have little or no impact on irregular secondary migration, said Jans.
As not all member states of the Council of Europe can be considered safe countries under Swiss asylum law and each asylum application must be examined individually, Heer's motion should also be rejected. Switzerland regularly reviews the list of "safe countries".
On Wednesday, the Council of States referred two identical motions back to the relevant committee for preliminary examination. It will decide on this later. If the small chamber says yes, the National Council will have to express its opinion again.
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