Paris - XINHUA
France and its European partners will review relations with Switzerland after a "worrying" Swiss vote to reintroduce immigration quotas with the European Union (EU), French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Monday. "There are accords with Switzerland on the free movement of workers and many other elements since 1999 ... if one of these elements will be called into question ... we are going to review our relations with Switzerland," Fabius told RTL radio. "It's a worrying vote because it means that Switzerland wants to withdraw into itself. It's bad news for both Europe and the Swiss because Switzerland will be penalized if it withdraws," the minister added. On Sunday, 50.3 percent of Swiss voters were in favor of proposals to reintroduce immigration quotas with the EU. Not a member of the EU, Switzerland allowed, following a treaty signed in 1999, a free movement of citizens to and from the European bloc that accounts for 60 percent of Swiss trade activity.