Europe

Germany's Merkel: Swiss immigrant talks untouched by Brexit

Associated Press
Published | Updated

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann brief the media after a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber). (The Associated Press)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, talks to Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann during a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber). (The Associated Press)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is assuring Switzerland it shouldn't worry that Britain's vote to leave the European Union will complicate its own negotiations with Brussels on immigration curbs.

Swiss voters decided narrowly in 2014 to cap all immigration, including from EU countries.

Switzerland isn't a member of the 28-nation bloc, but enjoys close ties with it, and has struggled to reconcile the referendum with the EU's insistence on free movement of labor.

Britain's vote has fueled fears that Switzerland could face tougher negotiating partners.

Merkel said after meeting with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann Wednesday that the two situations are completely different.

She wouldn't comment on a Swiss parliamentary proposal for a system that could give Swiss citizens priority for jobs in a few situations.

That compromise has angered Swiss nationalists.