EU opposes Swiss plan on reintroducing immigrant quotas
Residents from Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia will be subject to quotas starting in May if they apply for residence permits in Switzerland, according to Swiss Federal Cabinet.
"I regret the decision of Switzerland to discriminate against eight EU member states," Catherin Ashton, the high representative of EU foreign affairs and security policy, said here on Wednesday, adding that the agreement on the free movement of persons does not allow for any differentiation between EU citizens.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz also made a similar statement on Wednesday, saying that Switzerland’s decision would "discriminate" against eight EU member states and "go against the spirit and letter of what Switzerland has already signed up to."
"Switzerland is the EU’s third largest trading partner, and there are no clear legal or economic justifications for such a decision against eight EU member states," Schulz said.
Switzerland abandoned its quotas on the eight member states in May of last year. Over one million EU citizens are currently living in the country, or about 14 percent of its total population.
Amid increasing concerns about immigration especially since the outbreak of global financial crisis and then the debt crisis in the euro zone, the free movement of persons has been constantly challenged in many ways across Europe.
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