The people alone are not enough EU deal before the ballot box - and the right way: Council of States committee demands double yes vote
The Bilaterals III should face a particularly high hurdle: the people and the cantons would have to give their approval. This is what the Council of States' Political Institutions Committee is demanding - and is thus intervening in the legal dispute over the EU package.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The Council of States' Political Institutions Committee wants to link the new EU "Bilaterals III" treaty package to a constitutional amendment.
- This would require a double majority of the people and the cantons - a hurdle that otherwise only applies to popular initiatives.
- The initiative is also intended to end the months-long dispute as to whether the agreement must be subject to a mandatory referendum.
If Switzerland and the EU really want to seal their new package of agreements - the "Bilaterals III" - then not only the people should be able to have their say at the ballot box, but also the cantons. This is the demand of the Council of States' Political Institutions Committee (SPK-S). On Wednesday, it submitted a parliamentary initiative linking the treaty package to a constitutional amendment.
In concrete terms, this means that a double majority would be required - i.e. a majority of voters and a majority of the cantons. This high hurdle usually only applies to popular initiatives or constitutional amendments.
Months of dispute among lawyers
The proposal did not come out of the blue. For months, there has been a debate in Bern about whether the new EU package must be put to the people. At a hearing, the opinions of experts differed: some argued in favor of a mandatory referendum, while others thought it was simply unconstitutional.
With its proposal, the Council of States committee is now taking a stand and wants to resolve the legal conflict with a clear constitutional basis.
How the trick is supposed to work
Specifically, the committee wants to write a transitional provision into the Federal Constitution. This would expressly approve the Bilateral Agreements III and allow the Federal Council to ratify them - but only once the people and the cantons have given their approval. The legislative amendments for implementation should also only take effect once the constitutional amendment has been passed.
The Commission is thus following a suggestion made by lawyer Stefan Schmid. He had warned that parts of the EU package - such as the EU Citizens Directive - could conflict with Article 121a of the Federal Constitution. This article regulates the control of immigration and goes back to the SVP's mass immigration initiative. A new transitional provision would take precedence as a later constitutional norm - and elegantly remove the contradiction.
With this maneuver, the Commission also wants to put an end to another tough debate: the so-called "obligatory state treaty referendum sui generis". The question behind this is whether an international treaty of this scope automatically triggers a mandatory referendum. The question is controversial among legal experts. The Commission's proposal would settle the matter.
First, the Federal Council can comment on the initiative. Parliament then decides. If the initiative passes, it will be put to the ballot box - and the people and the cantons will then have the final say anyway.
