Swiss voters to decide on nuclear power, foie gras and naturalisation in February

Five proposals are scheduled for February 28, 2027, putting energy policy, food imports and citizenship rules before Swiss voters on the same day. The ballot will include a decision on whether Switzerland can build new nuclear power stations, ten years after voters approved a phase-out that banned new plants.

The Federal Council wants to lift that ban through an indirect counter-proposal to the “Stop the Blackout” popular initiative. Four other issues are also on the agenda. The proposals described alongside the nuclear vote range from an import ban on foie gras to a change in the path to Swiss citizenship and an EFTA trade agreement with Malaysia.

The votes bring very different policy choices into one national decision. Each has organised supporters and opponents, from parties split over nuclear power to groups weighing palm-oil tariffs against concerns about tropical forests. The result will offer a broad measure of voters’ views on these proposals.

The nuclear vote would revisit a decision made in 2017. Swiss voters approved a phase-out that prohibited the construction of new power stations. The Federal Council now wants to remove that prohibition, putting the future legal framework for nuclear energy back before the electorate on February 28, 2027.

Its proposal is an indirect counter-proposal to the “Stop the Blackout” popular initiative. The initiative committee includes the Swiss People’s Party, the Radical-Liberal Party and business representatives, and says it is satisfied with the Federal Council’s counter-proposal.

Opposition comes from the Greens, the Social Democratic Party, the Liberal Green Party and members of the Centre Party. That divide places parties on both sides of the energy debate and sets up a contest over whether the 2017 restriction should remain. The vote concerns permission to build new plants. Switzerland currently has three nuclear power stations still in operation, including the Gösgen plant in canton Solothurn.

The foie gras initiative would prohibit imports for private use as well as commercial supply. If approved, people travelling to Switzerland could no longer bring foie gras in for personal consumption. The proposal has broad support, particularly in German-speaking Switzerland.

Parliament has tabled an indirect counter-proposal to the initiative. The ballot will therefore put the proposed import ban before voters alongside that parliamentary response, making the treatment of foie gras a national decision rather than a question limited to retailers or restaurants.

The issue is one of four proposals accompanying the nuclear vote. It has a different reach from the energy and citizenship measures, but it also engages choices made by individuals: the initiative explicitly extends to private imports. Its reported support in German-speaking Switzerland points to a regional dimension in the campaign, while the national vote will determine whether the proposed restriction applies across the country.

The Democracy Initiative would set a five-year route to naturalisation for people with legal residence in Switzerland, regardless of their type of residence permit. Current rules require at least ten years’ residence for holders of a C permit, including three of the five years before they apply. The centre-right camp opposes the initiative.

Action Quatre Quarts launched the proposal with support from left-wing circles. It seeks to standardise the naturalisation process across Switzerland. The vote will put that proposed change to the existing residence requirement before the electorate.

The ballot also includes the EFTA free trade agreement with Malaysia. Parliament supports the deal, which is set to reduce customs duties on 12,500 tonnes of palm oil. A coalition of left-wing parties and organisations has triggered a referendum, citing concerns about consequences for tropical forests. Together, these proposals put citizenship rules and trade policy on the same February ballot, alongside the nuclear and foie gras questions.