The case

No majority of the cantons is required for the vote on the new treaty package with the EU.

Source: Guest commentary by René Rhinow and Georg Müller, NZZ online, 11.06.2024

The commentary

Even before a draft treaty with the EU on the continuation of the bilateral agreements has been published, there is a dispute over whether such a treaty should be subject to an optional or mandatory referendum. According to the authors the answer is clear: The Federal Assembly is not obliged and, in the authors’ opinion, not authorised to order a mandatory double referendum.

The authors are of the opinion that the treaties do not have clear constitutional status, i.e. they do not represent a “fundamental change to our state”, so the votes must be held in accordance with the rules of the constitution and must not be arbitrarily motivated – or politically motivated.

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