The Swiss government, always reluctant to open its borders in a country which has tough immigration rules, has decided not to invoke a safeguard clause in the Schengen agreement, which would have let the Alpine country limit the number of European workers allowed in. The conservative Justice Minister Evelyn Widmer-Schlumpf had proposed limitations a week earlier, citing rising unemployment in Switzerland, akin to western European fears about a flood of so-called Polish plumber workers taking jobs, a fear that didn’t really materialize.

About 3.5 percent of the Swiss population is currently unemployed. While this is the highest rate in three years it is below European averages. The other ministers moved against the proposal at a meeting of the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive branch. There was concern of tensions with other nations if the Swiss would invoke the safeguard. In 2007, Switzerland lifted its quotas for members of the first 15 European Union members and Cyprus and Malta. It could have used the clause in its agreement for up to two years.