Switzerland votes on its contribution to European border agency
Switzerland’s contribution to the European border and coastguard agency Frontex is being put to a vote on May 15. The referendum’s backers are against the migration policy that Frontex enforces and want Europe to be more open.
What's the issue?
Switzerland is a member of the European Schengen area, within which people have the right to move freely. So it contributes to the funding of Frontex, an agency whose task is to patrol Europe’s external borders. The agency’s global budget has been increased, which means a rise in Switzerland’s contribution. The electorate will vote on this new funding on May 15.
What is Frontex?
FrontexExternal link is the European border and coastguard agency. Created in 2004, it patrols the external borders of the Schengen area, fights cross-border crime and manages migratory flows.
The agency is financed by the European Union (EU) and by EU non-members who are signatories of the Schengen Agreement: Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Its headquarters are in Warsaw, Poland.
Frontex employs about 2,000 agents drawn from different member states. They work under the command of the national authorities in the state in which they are deployed and can be posted to the external Schengen borders or to third countries on the condition that these have signed an agreement with the EU.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/switzerland-votes-on-its-contribution-to-european-border-agency/47463950?utm_campaign=teaser-in-channel&utm_content=o&utm_source=swissinfoch&utm_medium=display