SVP initiative accepts termination of Schengen agreement
Published: Saturday, May 18th 2024, 10:20
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The SVP is discussing systematic controls at Switzerland's borders. On May 25, the delegates in Basel will decide on the launch of a "border protection initiative". Its implementation would contradict the Schengen Agreement.
Switzerland joined the Schengen area operationally 15 years ago. Accession was preceded by a referendum in 2005, in which the Swiss electorate voted in favor of association with the Schengen and Dublin agreements.
Since Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen area on March 31, 2024, 29 European countries - 25 EU states plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland - have formed the Schengen area. According to the EU Commission, around 425 million people live in this area.
The two recently added states have not yet been fully integrated. Only the checks at the air and sea borders when entering from a Schengen state have been lifted. Checks on persons continue to be carried out at land borders.
Abolition of internal borders
The Schengen Agreement was signed in 1985 by Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in the Luxembourg town of the same name. The main aim of Schengen is to abolish internal border controls. The external borders are controlled.
The Dublin Agreement, on the other hand, applies in the area of asylum. It stipulates that a person seeking asylum can only submit an asylum application in one of the Dublin states. Switzerland can therefore return a person who has already submitted an application in another Dublin country to that country. Among other things, this is intended to prevent two states from examining the same application at the same time.
SVP calls for systematic controls
The text of the initiative submitted to the SVP delegates calls for systematic controls at the Swiss border, as the SVP announced in January. Furthermore, people who enter Switzerland via a safe third country in order to apply for asylum would not be granted entry or asylum. The text also provides for an annual asylum quota of a maximum of 5,000 people.
However, systematic border controls are not compatible with the Schengen Agreement. This is because the agreement only provides for the temporary introduction of border controls in the event of a threat to internal security.
In mid-May, eight countries made use of this option, as can be seen on the EU Commission's website. This was mostly due to the risk of terrorism or asylum pressure. Germany, among others, is carrying out identity checks at the Swiss border until June 15.
Economic damage in the event of termination
Several years ago, the Federal Council commissioned a report on the economic and financial impact of the abolition of Schengen/Dublin. In March 2019, the government came to the conclusion that Switzerland's gross domestic product would fall by between 1.6% and 3.7% by 2030.
Other consequences would be more time and money spent crossing borders and higher costs in the area of asylum. In addition, the police authorities would lose access to the Schengen information system, which would lead to a weakening of security within Switzerland, the report continued.
Initiative has already led to conflict
Ten years ago, the Swiss electorate approved the SVP's mass immigration initiative. The text of the initiative was in conflict with the free movement of persons, as the EU Commission stated at the time.
The implementation of the initiative took over two years, during which the Federal Council and Parliament searched for a solution compatible with the free movement of persons. In the end, Parliament implemented the initiative with the mechanism of national priority.
©Keystone/SDA
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