Swiss pledge to take part in EU refugee programme

President Simonetta Sommaruga says Switzerland will participate in a European Union programme to relocate refugees fleeing the four-year conflict in Syria, as well as increase its financial contribution to international aid organisations. “The government considers it important to take part in fair distribution across Europe of people in need of protection both at short notice as well as in the long term,” Sommaruga told a news conference on Friday. In a first step, Switzerland will accept 1,500 refugees on condition they are registered as asylum seekers in neighbouring Italy or in Greece. The contingent is part of pledge made by Switzerland last March to accept 3,000 people under an international refugee effort. Sommaruga said the government was also willing to consider up to 5,000 additional refugees over the next two years as long as the Dublin system of handling refugees remained intact. She openly criticised the EU for failing to agree on a common asylum policy: