Swiss universities warn Swiss People’s Party ‘10 million’ plan could harm research

If Switzerland’s population reaches 9.5 million, the Federal Council would be required to significantly curb immigration; at 10 million, it could even be forced to terminate international agreements. This would constitute “a radical intervention and would severely harm not only the Swiss economy but also research,” Luciana Vaccaro, president of Swissuniversities, told SonntagsBlick. Her warning is based on a legal opinion commissioned by Swissuniversities. According to the analysis, the proposal put forward by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which is due to go to a vote on June 14, could trigger the so-called guillotine clause, placing Switzerland’s bilateral agreements with the European Union at risk. “If we reach the 10-million threshold and are required to terminate agreements related to the free movement of persons, we risk once again being excluded from Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, Digital Europe or Euratom – some of the world’s leading research programmes. That would be ...