The Swiss vote to reintroduce immigration quotas and abandon free movement of people has attracted worldwide attention, not least from Switzerland's EU neighbours, where there is also heated debate about free movement of people.
In Switzerland itself, one day after the vote, there is a feeling of nervousness.
Nearly all the newspapers are expecting a difficult period in Swiss-EU relations, and many are openly asking what the "far-reaching consequences" predicted by Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga might be.
Ms Sommaruga herself now faces a very tricky task: she will have to try to persuade Brussels that while Switzerland has decided against free movement of people, it still wants various other EU perks, such as access to Europe's single market.
That won't be easy. The EU's Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said in reaction to the Swiss vote: free movement of people, goods, capital and services is not separable. "The single market is not a Swiss cheese - you cannot have a single market with holes in it."
Any limitation of access to the single market could be disastrous for Switzerland's currently booming economy; more than half of all Swiss goods are sold to EU countries.
In Switzerland itself, one day after the vote, there is a feeling of nervousness.
Nearly all the newspapers are expecting a difficult period in Swiss-EU relations, and many are openly asking what the "far-reaching consequences" predicted by Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga might be.
Ms Sommaruga herself now faces a very tricky task: she will have to try to persuade Brussels that while Switzerland has decided against free movement of people, it still wants various other EU perks, such as access to Europe's single market.
That won't be easy. The EU's Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said in reaction to the Swiss vote: free movement of people, goods, capital and services is not separable. "The single market is not a Swiss cheese - you cannot have a single market with holes in it."
Any limitation of access to the single market could be disastrous for Switzerland's currently booming economy; more than half of all Swiss goods are sold to EU countries.
Divided country
But there are other worries on Swiss minds today as well. The proposal in favour of quotas was passed by the narrowest of margins, just 50.3 % voted yes, while 49.7% voted no.
The split has revived bitter memories of 1992, when Switzerland voted, again by the tiniest of majorities, against membership of the European Economic Area, which is a first step towards full EU membership.
At that time Switzerland's French speakers were firmly in favour of the EU, the German and Italian speakers against. In 2014 those linguistic divisions have reappeared, with the French side of the country, in the west, backing free movement, and the German and Italian regions supporting quotas.
These divisions worry the Swiss. It has not been easy creating a small nation out of three distinct languages and cultures.
The split has revived bitter memories of 1992, when Switzerland voted, again by the tiniest of majorities, against membership of the European Economic Area, which is a first step towards full EU membership.
At that time Switzerland's French speakers were firmly in favour of the EU, the German and Italian speakers against. In 2014 those linguistic divisions have reappeared, with the French side of the country, in the west, backing free movement, and the German and Italian regions supporting quotas.
These divisions worry the Swiss. It has not been easy creating a small nation out of three distinct languages and cultures.
Source: Hindi News
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