Swiss voters will decide this year on a proposal to cap the country\u2019s population at 10 million, following a successful signature campaign by the right-wing Swiss People\u2019s Party (SVP).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The government has confirmed this week that the initiative has secured enough public backing through a petition to be put to a nationwide referendum on June 14, according to Swiss media reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n The proposal seeks to amend Switzerland\u2019s constitution by requiring authorities to act if the overall population \u2014 including both Swiss citizens and foreign residents \u2014 exceeds 9.5 million before 2050. In that case, the government would be obliged to introduce measures to curb further growth.<\/p>\n Those measures would include tightening rules on asylum, family reunification and the issuance of residence permits. The government would also “seek to renegotiate international agreements that drive population growth,” under the proposal.<\/p>\n Switzerland, which is part of the Schengen Zone but not a member of the European Union, currently has a population of about 9.1 million people. Foreign nationals \u2014 most of them from EU countries \u2014 account for roughly 30% of residents.<\/p>\n Under the SVP\u2019s plan, the federal government would be required “to take all available measures” to enforce the cap, including potentially terminating Switzerland\u2019s free movement agreement with the EU if the 10-million threshold were crossed.<\/p>\n