View from Geneva, Switzerland. Reuters file photo.
Geneva: The Swiss government on Monday rejected a hard-right proposal to limit immigration to stop the population from hitting 10 million before 2050, arguing it would harm relations with the European Union.
Swiss voters will have their say on June 14 on a proposal entitled "No to a Switzerland of 10 million residents", championed by the Swiss People's Party (SVP), the country's biggest party.
The SVP, which has its roots in rural politics, is opposed to the EU, mass immigration and any weakening of Swiss neutrality.
The government said the popular initiative "endangers Switzerland's prosperity, internal security and humanitarian tradition".
"It calls into question the proven bilateral path with the EU and creates additional uncertainty in an already uncertain time," it said in a statement.
Switzerland's population has now passed nine million. The initiative says the Alpine nation's permanent resident population must not exceed 10 million people before the year 2050.
If it does, Switzerland would have to terminate international agreements blamed for driving population growth.
From 2050 onwards, the government can adjust the limit to account for the surplus of births over deaths, according to the proposal.
The government said the proposal would have "far-reaching consequences", up to and including the free movement of people agreement with the EU.
"The initiative would have a negative impact on relations with the EU. The initiative would thus call into question the bilateral path as a whole," it said.
