And they also want to restrict immigration... Let me clarify that. The populace very narrowly said yes to a referendum, which was supposed to restrict immigrat

And they also want to restrict immigration... Let me clarify that. The populace very narrowly said yes to a referendum, which was supposed to restrict immigration[1]. Parliament implented it in a way, which was pretty toothless towards EU citizens who want to move and work to Switzerland, letting the Swiss Popular Party (SVP) going balistic. Herein lies the rub: The population accepted the bilaterals with ~60% yes (if I recall correctly, I could be slightly off), but the immigration initiative with just slightly > 50%. The problem is that you can't have it both ways. In essence the country would have to cancel the bilateral contracts in order to restrict immigration to EU citizens. The current tensions are derived from a couple issues : The EU wants a frame agreement so that that not every piss squiek new regulation needs to be negotiated, which is understandable One of the sticky issues, though, is the regulation on EU companies (mostly contractors), which need to pre-announce work done in Switzerland 8 days in advance. The reason for that is to avoid sallary dumping, which makes sense, since salaries can be significantly larger in Switzerland and their minimums are negotiated in binding contracts between unions and employers. The EU thinks those requirements are too restrictive and the unions in Switzerland fight tooth and nail against softening those requirements. Befor yelling unions! I have to say their position is understandable. The risk of hit and run contractors working for 1/3rd of the negotiated sallaries is just too big. My prediction is that middle ground will be found eventually after the EU plays some hardball. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Swiss_immigration_initiative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Swiss_immigration_initiat... edit : some clarifications and spellos