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The decision of Swiss voters on Sunday to urge their government to bring in measures to limit the number of EU migrants has set Bern on a collision course with Brussels.
Supporters of an immigration cap argue foreigners are putting a strain on the housing supply and public services.
“I think we should start clamping down on the number of foreigners arriving here,” said one Geneva resident. “Other countries do it: the USA, Australia. You can’t just get a work permit like that.”
The city of Geneva is just across the border from France.
A stronger Swiss currency makes a job in Switzerland attractive to those who cross the frontier each day to go to work.
But one Frenchwoman says the result may harm the country.
“I think there will be a problem, but it will be Switzerland’s problem,” she said.
“Switzerland doesn’t have enough people to replace the expat workers,” said another French citizen, who works in sales at a department store.
For the past seven years, EU residents have enjoyed equal treatment in the Swiss job market
The vote now leaves a cloud hanging over EU-Swiss relations and put a series of agreements of issues, such as trade, in jeopardy.
Euronews’ Efi Koutsokosta met with top German MEP Elmar Brok to discuss the implications in an interview available in the video above.