Federal Council warns SVP border initiative could cost billions

The Swiss Federal Council has warned that approving the Swiss People’s Party’s border protection initiative could cost Switzerland up to 16 billion Swiss francs a year, SRF reported. It cited longer traffic jams, higher staffing costs and the risk that the Schengen and Dublin agreements could be terminated.

The government estimates the initiative’s annual financial impact at between 5.8 billion and 16.1 billion francs. The resulting loss of income could reach 1,300 francs per person each year.

The Federal Council reaffirmed its opposition to the initiative, titled “Stop asylum abuse”, by approving its report to Parliament. It had already rejected the proposal in December.

In a separate report, the government said Switzerland benefits significantly from cooperation with the European Union in economic and security policy terms.

The initiative calls for asylum to be denied to migrants who enter Switzerland illegally with smuggling gangs through safe third countries. It also seeks to limit the number of “genuine” refugees to 5,000 a year, deny residence rights to people whose asylum applications have been rejected and introduce stricter checks at Switzerland’s borders.