The Swiss parliament is set to defy voters and water down proposals to curb immigration in an effort to preserve its trade ties with the EU.
Voters decided in a 2014 referendum to cap the free movement of people from the EU by next February — prompting a warning from Brussels that it would lose access to the single market. The lower house of parliament is due instead on Wednesday to approve an “emergency brake” that could be triggered only with the EU’s consent.
The Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the right-wing populist group that initiated the referendum, has threatened another popular vote. “We voted to take back control — just like the British — and the proposal being discussed falls well short of that,” said