Majority of the cantons not necessary According to the Federal Council, only the people should decide on EU treaties
The Federal Council wants only the people to vote on the new EU treaties and rejects a majority of the cantons.
30.04.2025, 13:59
29.06.2025, 14:10
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- The Federal Council wants the new EU treaties to be approved only by a simple majority of the people and without a majority of the cantons.
- It plans to divide the treaty package into four individual parts that can be put to a referendum.
- The final decision on the type of referendum will be made by Parliament.
Only the people, but not the cantons, should be able to express their opinion on the treaty package with the EU. This is the view of the Federal Council. However, it is up to Parliament to decide whether a majority of the people or a majority of the cantons should be required. The Federal Council is also planning four proposals.
With a merely optional referendum, the hurdle for approval at the ballot box is less high. Although the majority of voters must say yes, a majority of the cantons is not required.
Reference to previous practice
The Federal Council based its decision in favor of the optional referendum on previous comparable cases, as it wrote in a press release on Wednesday. It also consulted legal doctrine and held discussions with the cantons and the foreign affairs committees of both chambers.
Under constitutional law, an optional referendum is the best-supported and most politically viable solution, he wrote. This procedure corresponds to the previous practice with the bilateral agreements. The Schengen/Dublin Agreement provided for a more far-reaching dynamic adoption of law than the new treaty package.
The Federal Council also recalls the "No" to the popular initiative "State treaties before the people". A clear majority of voters had thus expressed that they did not want a mandatory referendum on international treaties with important legislative provisions.
For the Federal Council, the optional referendum on EU treaties is also the more convincing solution with regard to domestic regulations - such as wage protection or immigration. The agreements could thus be formally linked to domestic implementation, he wrote.
Decision by parliament
And the optional referendum would give the cantons and parliament the greatest possible room for maneuver. Parliament will ultimately decide whether the EU treaty package requires only a majority of the people or a majority of the people and the cantons.
The Federal Council is also planning four federal resolutions, which will be discussed individually by Parliament and each of which will be subject to a referendum. The first of these federal decrees concerns the stabilization of bilateral relations with Brussels.
The other three are intended to regulate further developments. The keywords here are food safety, electricity and health. This approach respects the constitutional principle of unity of subject matter, wrote the Federal Council.
It is currently planned that the EU treaties will be initialed in Bern in May. The Federal Council intends to open the consultation process on the package before the summer break. At the same time, the translated treaty texts will be published as documents for the consultation.
