Swiss Council of States Votes to Put EU Treaty Package to a Mandatory Referendum
Switzerland's Council of States voted on 1 October to require that the new package of treaties negotiated with the European Union — known as Bilaterals III — be put to a mandatory referendum and win both a majority of voters nationwide and a majority of the cantons, the so-called double majority. The motion passed by 23 votes to 17 with 3 abstentions, rejecting the Federal Council's preferred optional referendum, under which a simple popular majority would have sufficed.
The package updates Switzerland's bilateral framework with the EU across free movement of people, electricity, food safety and health. The Council of States also approved Switzerland's solidarity commitment credits of CHF 3.3 billion for 2030–2036, including CHF 2 billion to help reduce economic and social disparities within the EU, CHF 273.4 million for migration projects and a one-off payment of roughly CHF 1 billion.
The vote also confirmed that safeguard clauses in the treaties may include measures such as an 'immigration tax' in the event of a sharp rise in immigration. Supporters of the double-majority requirement argue that treaties touching sovereignty and institutions should face a constitutional-level threshold, while opponents warn it could make the package far harder to pass and unsettle relations with the EU, Switzerland's largest trading partner.
The question now goes to the National Council, with a separate electricity agreement due for debate in December. The bilateral framework has governed Swiss-EU relations for more than two decades, and Bern regards the update as decisive for the decades ahead.
Sources: reporting by swissinfo.ch, The Geneva Times and Swiss Observer.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 从玫瑰园眺望伯尔尼老城，Daniel Kraft 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0（Wikimedia Commons）
