'Free from EU' Landmark Swiss deal gives native workers job PRIORITY in Juncker climbdown
SWITZERLAND has agreed a landmark compromise over EU immigration and access to the single market - which could potentially pave the way for a similar deal for post-Brexit Britain.
The Swiss Parliament has approved legislation which gives hiring preferences to native jobseekers, instead of placing a yearly quota on the number of foreign workers entering the country, as was previously proposed.
The move is seen as simultaneously easing the pressure on Switzerland's job market from EU migrants, while buying more time to strike a deal with the European Commission over access to the single market.
Brussels insists on free movement of people as a condition for non-EU member Switzerland joining the market under bilateral accords.
That has seen Switzerland experiencing similar issues to the UK, with a large influx of EU foreigners coming to work in the affluent country, squeezing public services and job opportunities for locals.
The accord has been under threat since a 2014 referendum in which Swiss voters demanded immigration quotas, with a law required to be in place by February.
New legislation, approved by Switzerland on Wednesday, is significant after European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said he "could live with" such a compromise provided it was agreed mutually with the EU.
Switzerland's Liberal MP Kurt Fluri, who helped broker the compromise, said of the legislation: "We would be freed from the pressure that the EU wanted to exert on us."
If the union agrees the arrangement, it would set a precedent that could feasibly give Britain some purchase during its own talks over withdrawing from the EU.
After Britain's historic vote to leave the EU in June, the debate has raged over whether the UK can keep unfettered access to the single market while taking back control of its borders.
Brexit minister David Davis had previously said such a scenario was "highly improbable", while the cabinet is split over which issue should be prioritised in withdrawal talks.
The potential deal with Switzerland suggests Juncker's hard line stance over free movement could be softening - although he has said publicly that any compromise would be a one-off between the Swiss and the EU.
We would be freed from the pressure that the EU wanted to exert on us
The argument has sway given Switzerland's unique relationship to the EU, which has been built up over the years through bilateral treaties rather than full membership.
On the other hand Britain, as the first country to ever withdraw from the bloc, may expect a frostier reception when ministers finally sit down to the negotiating table.
Others, both in Bern and in London, who will see Switzerland's compromise as a victory for the EU.
The right-wing Swiss People's Party condemned it's parliament's decision to drop demands for migrant quotas, calling it a breach of the constitution given the referendum result.
Meanwhile, there are those like International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and foreign secretary Boris Johnson who are prepared to lose access to the single market in order to have full control of UK immigration laws.
A deal like Switzerland's, therefore, would be seen as a fudge by the "hard" Brexiters - as well as millions of Leave voters.