"Express format" for considering asylum applications in Switzerland should last no more than 140 days
As Swissinfo.ch notes, the main point of the amendments is to qualitatively speed up the procedure for checking applications submitted by migrants hoping to obtain legal status as recognized refugees in Switzerland. It is expected that the "express format" for considering asylum applications will last no more than 140 days. Today, the procedure for considering such applications can last up to 400 days.
To ensure the usual high Swiss quality of legal expertise, the amendments proposed by parliament provide for a noticeable strengthening of the degree of legal protection for refugees. In particular, deputies propose to grant migrants the right to free legal support from the very beginning. At the same time, the federal center should gain more competencies in the area of more effective regulation of forced migration.
The people apparently agreed with all these innovations, which became an obvious defeat for the conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP), which traditionally opposes refugees and migrants and was the initiator of this referendum. Interestingly, even the village of Oberwil-Lieli, which caused so much noise due to its negative position on migrants, voted for this initiative.
It is expected that the amendments approved last Sunday will come into force in 2019. The Swiss People's Party (SVP) admitted its defeat, but through its new chairman, A. Rösti, demanded tougher border controls.