Free movement non-negotiable, Barroso tells Swiss

The president of the European Commission warns that Switzerland cannot restrict EU migrants without risking market access.

José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, has warned Switzerland that it risks access to the European Union’s single market if it goes ahead with caps on immigrants from the EU.  

Barroso poured cold water on the Swiss idea of re-negotiating a bilateral agreement with the EU on freedom of movement after a wafer-thin majority of voters on Sunday (9 February) backed the introduction of caps on immigration from the EU.  

“We will not negotiate on the principle of free movement,” Barroso said today (13 February). “That is non-negotiable.”  

Barroso said that Switzerland was an important partner for the EU but that Switzerland’s interest in unhindered access to the Union’s single market was greater.  

“There are international agreements between Switzerland and the EU and they must be respected,” he said.  

He said that it was not his task to come up with proposals.  

Switzerland’s federal government announced yesterday to dispatch Yves Rossier, its co-ordinator for relations with the EU, to Brussels for exploratory talks with David O’Sullivan, his EU counterpart. The meeting is expected to take place next Thursday (20 February).  

Next Tuesday, Didier Burkhalter, Switzerland’s foreign minister who this year chairs meetings of the government, is to hold talks with Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, in Berlin.  

Of the 1.9 million foreign citizens who reside in Switzerland (population: 8.1m), 1.25m are from the EU and EFTA area, including some 300,000 from Germany.

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