Popular votes, Cassis' first (cross-border guide)

Context

On September 27, Swiss citizens will vote on the initiative on neutrality, an issue that assumes great importance for Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis. This will be the first time he takes responsibility for a voting issue, and his Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) will be at the forefront of the neutrality issue.

Neutrality is a fundamental concept for Switzerland, which has always maintained a neutral position in international affairs. This was made possible by its policy of non-alignment, which allowed it to maintain good relations with all UN member states. However, in recent years, Switzerland has faced many challenges, such as the Ukrainian crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have tested its neutrality.

The FDFA has already started working on the issue of neutrality, with a working group made up of experts from foreign policy, international law and international relations. The group identified some key points to ensure Switzerland's neutrality, such as the need to maintain a neutral position in international affairs, not to participate in military coalitions and not to provide military support to foreign countries.

In addition, the FDFA has also started working on the issue of cooperation with UN member states, to ensure that Switzerland maintains good relations with all member states. This is

Operational details

Ignazio Cassis, the new Federal Director of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), said he is ready to work for the initiative to promote Swiss neutrality through popular votes. This is the first time the FDFA has engaged in an election campaign, and Cassis hopes to have good arguments to convince voters.

Swiss neutrality is a core value for Switzerland, and the FDFA is involved in numerous initiatives to promote it. According to Cassis, neutrality is one of the main reasons why Switzerland is considered a safe and stable country. “Our neutrality allows us to maintain balanced relationships with every country in the world,” Cassis said.

The FDFA will be involved in a campaign to promote neutrality, which will also include the creation of information material and participation in public events. Cassis hopes to convince voters of the importance of neutrality and its relevance to Switzerland.

A concrete example of how neutrality is important for Switzerland is its strategic position between Europe and the rest of the world. Switzerland is an important centre of trade and finance, and its neutrality allows it to maintain balanced relations with all countries in the world. According to FDFA estimates, neutrality contributes to 20% of Swiss GDP.

The FDFA has also launched a project to promote neutrality in schools and universities. The

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Key points

September 27th will be an important date for Ignazio Cassis. He will be one of the few federal councillors to have won or lost all the popular votes under his responsibility. The next opportunity could be the new bilateral agreements with the European Union.

The stakes for Switzerland are particularly high, considering that the volume of trade with the 27 EU Member States exceeded 300 billion francs during 2023, representing about 50% of Swiss exports and 70% of imports. Heavily industrialised cantons such as Zurich, St Gallen and Geneva depend vitally on the stability of this regulatory framework.

The path of Bilateral III is part of a complex legal context, characterised by the expiry of the safeguard clause on the free movement of persons and the need to update the five existing historical agreements, originally signed in 1999 and entered into force on 1 June 2002.

"Negotiations with Brussels require a strict balance between market access and wage protection."

To understand the scale of this institutional challenge, it is useful to analyse the practical scenarios that Swiss companies, from SMEs in Winterthur to multinationals in Zug, are facing:

• Stability scenario: Renewal of agreements with dynamic adoption of European law limited to common market sectors only, safeguarding estimated agricultural subsidies

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Source: rsi.ch