Zwitsers stemmen in referendum voor hulp aan nieuwe EU-lidstaten (en)

The Swiss have voted in favour of a government plan to spend around €620 million over the next decade on the EU's ten most recent member states.

In a referendum on Sunday (26 November), EU-surrounded Switzerland narrowly voted in favour - 53.4 percent - of putting Swiss Francs into the EU's cohesion funds - a budget line that is used for less well-off members of the bloc.

The lion's share of the money will go to Poland with the rest going to the remaining seven ex-communist states as well as Cyprus and Malta.

Switzerland, a neutral country, has often had tense relations with Brussels, preferring to stay out of the EU but wanting to get as many benefits as it can through bilateral agreements with the bloc.

However, Brussels has made it clear that any benefits Berne receives from trade relations with the EU should be paid back in kind.

The European Commission welcomed the Swiss vote with its chief Jose Manuel Barroso saying "the [vote] is also in its own interest."

He added that "Switzerland already benefits from privileged access to the union's internal market meaning that each enlargement of the European Union benefits Switzerland further."

Before Sunday's vote, those in favour of the Swiss aid had warned voters that a No vote could mean that Brussels takes a harder line on the bilateral agreements that are currently being negotiated, including on energy and research.