Swiss to tackle new EU treaty in 2017 amid right-wing resistance

Zurich

THE Swiss government plans to send Parliament next year a broad new treaty with the European Union to replace a patchwork of bilateral deals now under strain from immigration, it said on Tuesday, but it faces stiff right-wing resistance.

Swiss voters have long been leery of ceding too much power to the 28-nation bloc that surrounds the historically neutral Alpine country and buys most of its exports, and rising EU immigration has stoked fears for Swiss identity and sovereignty.