Nearly 55% of voters in Switzerland on Sunday rejected an initiative championed by the top right-wing party to cap the rich Alpine country’s population at 10 million, early results showed.
The populist Swiss People’s Party, which has the most seats in parliament, has stirred up and fostered anti-migration sentiment over the years, notably about an influx of workers from the neighboring European Union.
Some have dubbed the proposal a “Swiss Brexit” because it could jeopardize Switzerland’s deep ties to the European Union anchored by deals that foster economic growth, cultural ties and cross-border travel, among other things. Switzerland is not one of the EU’s 27 member states, but it is all but surrounded by four of them
If the permanent resident population exceeds 9.5 million before 2050, the Federal Council and Parliament will need to take measures, particularly in the areas of asylum and family reunification. The Federal Council would also need to invoke or negotiate exemptions and safeguard clauses in international agreements that contribute to population growth. If the 10-million threshold is exceeded, Switzerland would have to terminate these agreements, including the one with the EU on the free movement of persons after two years. This would also render the other agreements under Bilateral Agreements I null and void. Switzerland’s participation in the EU’s Schengen and Dublin agreements would also be called into question, thereby jeopardising close cooperation in the areas of security and asylum.
Basically it says that once some thresholds of population are surpassed migration laws and agreements start getting more strict until population reduces again.
As for the practicality of it if the referendum would have passed and a law would me made of it it wouldn’t “cap” the population per se, it would have banned immigration into the country for as long a Switzerland population is above 10 Million.