Euractiv information service reports how yesterday Switzerland announced that it would temporarily re-introduce an authorisation requirement for workers coming from the eight East European countries that joined the EU in 2004, a decision that was sharply criticised by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Starting 1 May, the nationals of the so-called EU-8 (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) will have to seek authorisation to work in Switzerland, the government said in a statement.
“In a recession, immigration from the EU has had a positive impact on consumption and investment in building, thus strengthening, the Swiss economy. More than 1.1 million citizens of EU member countries live in Switzerland. They play an important role, as well as the border, the Swiss economy and the creation or retention of jobs in Switzerland,” the statement reads.
Ashton said she regretted the decision of the Swiss authorities. You can read the full article on Euractiv here.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, now there`s a real fire breathing woman, to put the fear of God into the Swiss Cheeses . I bet the Swiss government fell over with laughter when she entered the fight for the rights of the eight . Switzerland being a racist country, has effectively blocked the Roma and the less well educated people from easy entry . France effectively have done the same .
Presumably the production of cuckoo clocks has exceeded demand in these recessionary times, so they don’t need extra workers.