Switzerland: Temporary labor market barriers for citizens of EU-8 countries
Description
On 18 April 2012, the government of Switzerland announced the usage of the "pressure valve clause" ("Ventilklausel") from 1 May 2012. In the following twelve months, the number of work permissions issued to citizens from EU-8 countries is capped at 2'000.
The EU-8 countries are the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuana, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
The "pressure valve clause" had been included in the Swiss-EU agreement on the free movement of labor after the latest EU-accessions. Until the full implementation of the agreement on 31 May 2014, Switzerland may cap the issuance of work permissions if annual inflows from these countries exceed the prior three-year average by 10 percent.
In the year prior to the restriction, a total of about 6'000 such permissions had been issued. According to the Swiss government the relevant three-year average lay at 2'075 permissions.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | |
| Was such evidence identified? | |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? |
Date Discovered:
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 1 May 2012
Duration: 12 months
GTA Evaluation: Red
Source:
Swiss Government Portal. (18 April 2012). Freizügigkeitsabkommen Schweiz – EU: Anrufung der Ventilklausel gegenüber den Staaten der EU-8. Available at http://www.admin.ch/aktuell/00089/index.html?lang=de&msg-id=44175
Government Response:
- 350 reads
