SWITZERLAND To Bring In Immigration Controls On European Nationals

The Swiss government announced it will introduce a quota system if numbers arriving in the land-locked country from other European nations rises over a certain limit.

The proposed curbs, due to be drafted by March next year, are likely to anger Brussels as they run against the EU's fiercely-guarded freedom of movement principle.

Although Switzerland is not a member of the 28-member bloc, a deal with Brussels means it allows unrestricted immigration for EU nationals, while it is also a part of the continent's borderless Schengen Area.

But, in February last year, Swiss voters supported limiting immigration in a national referendum.

The country's government is now obliged to return to the controls in place before it signed the freedom of movement deal with the EU.

In a statement today, Switzerland's Federal Council revealed how it would meet these "constitutional requirements".

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