Education Universities warn against SVP initiative against a Switzerland of 10 million
The higher education association Swissuniversities warns of a weakening of Switzerland as a center of education. The SVP initiative "No Switzerland of 10 million!" creates chaos in legislation, unsettles partners and weakens the economy and universities. There would only be losers.
22.03.2026, 06:31
SDA
Above 9.5 million inhabitants in Switzerland, the Federal Council would have to massively curb immigration, and above 10 million even terminate international treaties. This would be "a radical intervention and would not only cause enormous damage to the Swiss economy, but also to science", says Luciana Vaccaro from Swissuniversities, the conference of rectors of Swiss universities, in an interview with Sonntagsblick.
This is the conclusion of a legal opinion commissioned by Swissuniversities. The SVP initiative, which will be put to the vote on June 14, threatens to trigger the so-called guillotine clause. This would put agreements with the EU at risk.
"If we reach the 10 million threshold and have to terminate agreements with personal references, we once again risk being excluded from Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, Digital Europe or Euratom - in other words, from the world's leading research programs. That would be devastating," warned Vaccaro.
Half of professors from abroad
Swiss universities are among the best in the world. This is only possible because we attract the best researchers and build international partnerships, said the Swissuniversities President. She continued: "Around half of the professors at our universities come from abroad. Two thirds of top Swiss research projects are internationally anchored."
And ultimately everyone benefits from research and science, not just academics, according to Vaccaro. Around half of start-up founders in Switzerland do not have a Swiss passport, and a large proportion of patents are co-developed by foreigners. "We benefit enormously from this talent," she emphasized.
