The National Council accepted on Monday evening two motions from the Council of States concerning the future of S status for Ukrainian refugees.
The first from Esther Friedli (UDC/SG), the most restrictive, was accepted by 23 to 19 during the June session and by 96 votes to 87 by the National on Monday. She asks that Switzerland limit S status “to people whose last place of residence was in Ukrainian regions entirely or partially occupied by Russia or in which more or less intense fighting is underway.” It will therefore no longer be granted to people who live in regions without combat. However, this rule will only apply to newcomers.
The second, from Benedikt Würth (C/SG), was more widely accepted by 29 votes to 11 in the States in June and 120 to 60 in the National. It requests that Switzerland withdraw or not renew S status if the person concerned leaves Switzerland for a certain period (15 days), if they have benefited from return assistance or similar assistance or if they have obtained S status in an abusive manner.
Generally speaking, the Federal Council was opposed to it. Its representative Beat Jans believes that the current regulations make it possible to fight against abuses and that the regionalization of the status is hardly compatible with the reality of Ukraine: “The incessant assaults by Russian forces could quickly lead to a deterioration of the general situation in terms of security or supply, including in regions that are currently least affected by the war. As a result, the latter cannot be considered as lastingly stabilized.”
Beat Jans also added that “this regional differentiation would also play into the hands of Russia and undermine solidarity in Europe.” By deciding in this way, Switzerland is taking a very meaningful option: “Switzerland no longer supports Ukraine and its population,” he pleaded, in vain.
In a statement, the Socialist Party strongly criticized the bourgeois camp: “Such toughening measures are inhumane and disconnected from reality, especially in view of the intensification and unpredictability of Russia’s attacks against Ukraine.” For the Greens “Pretending that there are safe zones in Ukraine to limit Ukrainians’ access to S status is playing into Putin’s hands and supporting his war of aggression contrary to international law”
Currently, some 65,000 people benefit from S status linked to the war in Ukraine. The Federal Council has decided that it will not be changed before March 2025.
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