GENEVA The proposed Ecopop referendum on 30 November ostensibly claims to be an effort to limit Switzerland’s rising population and to preserve its natural resources by restricting foreign immigration to 0.2 per cent a year over three years.

The very fact of the initiative could further divide Swiss-EU relations
Backed by a bizarre mix of individual greens, socialists and right-wingers, it also seeks to appeal to ordinary Swiss concerned by rampant building construction, the rise of house prices and rents allegedly goaded on by foreigners, and the need to return to a more viable and authentically Swiss society. Furthermore, it would like to see 10 per cent of the government’s development budget dedicated to family planning or population control in the Third World.
According to Pascal Junod, president of the Geneva branch of ASIN (Action for an Independent Switzerland) and a supporter of the initiative, Ecopop represents what a majority of Swiss would like, notably “a real path for the future.” He also bitterly criticized the mainstream parties for creating an atmosphere of “fear” and promoting “the spectre of isolation” if the referendum were to pass, in the minds of the people.

“Extreme, Rigid and Useless” according to detractors
The reality, however, is that Ecopop’s proposed changes are not dealing with the problems at hand. As one Swiss commentator noted, while clothing itself in environmental terminology, the initiative is little more than “a discriminatory, if not racist approach” for dealing with the so-called “immigration issue”. It is also regarded as an “eco-extension” of the UDC’s successful 9 February vote, which now legally requires Bern to limit bilateral agreements with the European Union, including immigration quotas.
Brussels, however, has made it clear that it will not consider a renegotiation of any bilateral deals, particularly with regard to the free movement of labour.
Not unlike the February vote, Ecopop fails to take into account Switzerland’s own current economic situation. With the EU representing this country’s principal trading partner, most Swiss industries ranging from pharma and tourism to watches, agriculture and high-tech repeatedly explain that they cannot survive without foreign labour, skills and expertise. Basically, they point out, Switzerland would lose its cutting edge in a highly competitive corporate world. The economy would ultimately collapse relegating Switzerland to the position of a second-rate industrial nation.
As it is, foreign companies are already picking up and leaving the country because of the constant barrage of negative messaging put out by such popular initiatives. The very migrants, too, whether top-level managers, researchers or operational specialists, that Switzerland needs are increasingly thinking twice about relocating to this country.
Last month, nearly 500 Lake Geneva enterprises voiced their concern about threatened curbs on their ability to choose the best workers possible, regardless of nationality. Many have said that they will not expand their operations if they cannot obtain the right people. Some Swiss companies are even exploring the possibilities of moving abroad, while several have threatened to outsource part of their operations elsewhere, such as India. This means less jobs – and tax income – for Switzerland.
Ecopop’s claim to respond to Switzerland’s urgent need to make more intelligent use of its natural resources, such as water, comes across as a valid concern for many Swiss. This includes implementing more effective renewable energy policies, particularly in light of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on climate change. But the initiative’s proposed immigration limits are hardly likely to reduce public consumption. If anything, observers note, many of the foreign researchers now working with organizations such as the Federal Polytechnique Institute (EPFL) in Lausanne are specifically involved in exploring more efficient means of renewable energy sources, such as solar. As one EPFL collaborator noted, “they are the ones helping put Switzerland on the global map as a leading, high-tech innovator.”
Finally, Ecopop’s proposal to halt people in developing countries from breeding comes across as neo-colonial and arrogant. As social politician Manuel Tornare points out, “this will actually torpedo current efforts to fight against global poverty.”
For the Bern government, the Ecopop initiative is highly unwelcome. Having learned a lesson from its complacency prior to the February vote, it is urging Swiss, including the media, to speak out against it. This is already resulting in a surge of analysis and reporting in most mainstream media, such as the Tribune de Geneve, Le Temps and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. In addition, there appears to be far more debate on Swiss radio and television.
Edward Girardet, Managing Editor. editor@lenews.ch
Update: This vote was rejected by a majority of 74.1%. Voting number by canton can be seen here.
Jeremy McTeague says
Jaye Austin Says: As an ecologist down to my foot pads, I can say that if the only living beings on earth were humans the earth would not long survive. I hope you learn more about ecology it would help you. More people do mean less habitat for animals and so on.
My own experience here in the United States is that non-Caucasians do not have the same sensitivity to our nature that they hopefully do in their own countries. I have seen South American boys rip branches off of trees with enthusiasm that makes me heartsick for the tree.
It is discriminatory for you to judge Caucasian individuals in their own country for wanting to care for their own environment.
Jaye Austin
Jeremy McTeague says
Livia Varju: Dear Editor,
Re. Edward Girardet’s article about the Ecopop initiative, we must consider several aspects that are not mentioned in the media, which seems to be biased against Ecopop. In the Tribune de Geneve, for example, one keeps seeing articles and letters condemning the initiative, with only occasionally a small item in favour.
We must not forget that the WWF has been telling us for many many years now that every second one square meter of land in Switzerland is covered in concrete or asphalt! As a result, the beautiful Swiss nature is disappearing, besides we have to import ever more agricultural products.
There is a shortage of housing, especially in the Lac Leman area. In Geneva, for example, 6,000 new residents are arriving every year, only counting the legal ones. With the illegals, the number probably doubles. The authorities are adding floors on the top of apartment buildings, the countryside is being lost under construction.
There is already too much traffic in Geneva, rendering the air unbreathable and creating traffic jams, especially around place Bel Air and Cornavin.
Besides the noise pollution is unbearable. I live on the route de Saint George where the traffic is increasing dramatically. A few months ago we began waking up already toward 5am, with the masses of cars, motorbicycles and truck driving by. The dust level has increased as well as a result.
About Ecopop wanting to devote 10% more to birth contol in the Third World, it’s an excellent idea and vitally important. In poor countries women often have 8-10 children whom they can’t feed or educate, who can’t find work when they grow up and consequently come and invade Europe. According to Population Matters*, at least 220 million women would like to have access to birth control and more than 100 million die from backstreet abortions every year.
This year up to the present 130,000 migrants have arrived in Europe according to the Tribune de Geneve a couple of days ago, plus the hundreds of thousands we don’t know about. This figure is doubtful as according to the Tribune of 20.4.13, 355,500 asylum applications were made in 2012 in Europe, and we read and hear in all the media that the numbers are rising dramatically. In Switzerland the numbers of migrants are rising constantly. In 2013, 66,200 immigrants from the EU came to Switzerland, of a total of 88,000 (Tribune 10.7.14).
Switzerland has the highest proportion of foreigners in Europe, almost a quarter of the total population. And in Geneva, almost half are foreigners.
The immigrants are willing to work for less, creating ever more unemployed, especially in Geneva with the long French border halfway around the city. I knew a man and a woman who lost their jobs after 20 years at their respective companies. They were replaced by French from across the border and could never again find a permanent job.
The Swiss are less against immigration from the EU than from other continents because the jails are full of foreign criminals from other continents, the majority from North and Black Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans. Crimes are committed with ever growing violence and brutality. Women in Geneva are afraid to go out in the evening alone, whereas 16 years ago we could still come
home after midnight without a worry.
To conlude, it is understandable that the Swiss want to limit immigration, thus limiting crime and making this once again a beautiful, clean, safe, orderly country that one can be proud of.
Sincerely, Livia Varju, Petit-Lancy
* Population Matters
http://www.populationmatters.org
http://twitter.com/#!/PopnMatters
http://www.facebook.com/PopulationMatters
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