Swiss Voters Reject Plan to Limit Jobs for EU Citizens

Laura Zimmermann, Co-President of Operation Libero, center, together with Valentin Vogt, President of the Swiss Employers' Federation, Renato Perlini, campaign manager of Operation Libero, and Stefan Manser-Egli, Co-President of Operation Libero, from left, are pleased with the result of the vote, at the Hotel Schweizerhof in Bern, on Sept. 27, 2020. Peter Klaunzer/Keystone via AP

GENEVA—Voters in Switzerland on Sunday strongly defeated a nationalist party’s proposal to limit the number of European Union citizens allowed to live and work in their country.

Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported that the measure was rejected by 61.7 percent of voters, with 38.3 percent in favor. All but four of the country’s 26 cantons, or states, likewise opposed the plan—proposed by the Swiss People’s Party—to give preferential access to jobs, social protection, and benefits to people from Switzerland over those from the 27-nation bloc that surrounds it.