Switzerland's Federal Council on Thursday recommended that parliament reject the Kompass initiative, a popular initiative backed by the billionaire founders of asset manager and private equity firm Partners Group that seeks to block a new agreement between Switzerland and the European Union.
Swiss government urges parliament to reject EU-deal blocking initiative
Switzerland's Federal Council on Thursday recommended that parliament reject the Kompass initiative, a popular initiative backed by the billionaire founders of asset manager and private equity firm Partners Group that seeks to block a new agreement between Switzerland and the European Union.
The EU-Swiss deal, agreed in December 2024, represents what would be the largest overhaul of bilateral economic relations between the two parties in a generation. It is currently being debated in the Swiss parliament and, if passed, would face a referendum at the earliest in 2027.
The Kompass initiative aims to protect Swiss independence by broadening the scope of compulsory referendums on state treaties. Specifically, it would require international treaties to win approval not only from a majority of voters but also from a majority of Switzerland's 26 cantons, raising the threshold for ratifying such agreements.
The initiative also opposes the 'dynamic alignment' of laws envisioned under the EU-Swiss deal, under which Switzerland — subject to its own constitutional safeguards — would adapt its legislation to relevant changes in EU law.
The Federal Council said the initiative's provisions on the adoption of law under international treaties are so unclearly formulated that they would create serious legal uncertainty. The initiative has already gathered enough signatures to trigger a referendum, though no date has been set.
- The source does not name the billionaire founders of Partners Group who back the initiative.
- The source does not state the number of signatures gathered or the deadline by which they were collected.
- The source does not specify the timeline for parliament's vote on the recommendation to reject the initiative.
- The source does not detail what constitutional safeguards Switzerland would retain under the dynamic alignment provisions of the EU-Swiss deal.
- The source does not include any response from the initiative's backers to the Federal Council's recommendation.
Read the original at The Straits Times