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                    Switzerland Votes on Immigration Reform

   by VOA News

   Switzerland is voting Sunday to decide whether to impose radical limits
   on immigration, a referendum opponents to the proposal have labelled
   xenophobic and disastrous for the economy.

   The so-called Ecopop initiative would cap immigration growth at 0.2
   percent of the population, or an addition of 16,000 people annually
   instead of the current rate of roughly 80,000 per year. The initiative
   also calls for Switzerland to use 10 percent of its international
   development aid budget for family planning programs abroad, a move
   critics say smacks of "neocolonialism."

   Christian Luescher, a parliamentarian for the Liberal Party and
   co-chair of the committee opposing Ecopop told the French News Agency
   (AFP) the initiative was "absolutely absurd." He said the proposal
   aimed to "drastically, linearly and arbitrarily reduce immigration to
   Switzerland, with absolutely no consideration for the needs of the
   economy." He warned the move would impoverish the country.

   Ecopop supporters said the current influx of foreigners was swelling
   the Alpine nation's population and shrinking its idyllic landscapes and
   green spaces.

   Polls suggest the Ecopop initiative will fail, along with two other
   proposals.

   One proposal calls for the Swiss central bank to boost its gold
   reserves, while the other would scrap one of Switzerland's biggest tax
   perks for wealthy expatriates, dealing a blow to the country's
   reputation as a tax haven.

   Sunday's vote is the second time this year Switzerland has staged an
   immigration referendum. In February, the approval of an initiative
   demanding quotas for immigration from the European Union called into
   question non-member Switzerland's commitment to the free movement of
   people principle on which the country's economic ties with the EU are
   based.

   Switzerland's system of direct democracy gives citizens the right to
   force popular votes, if they can gather enough signatures of support.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/switzerland-votes-on-immigration-reform/2539861.html