Will the Swiss introduce limits to immigration from the EU?

Watchmaker Marc Jenni peers through an eyeglass, carefully placing a tiny, new component into a shiny gold timepiece he is fixing.

He is a Swiss national, the third generation of his family to go into the horology trade. He would like his children to make Swiss watches too. "But I won't force them to," he says.

The Jenni family's small, independent shop in the centre of the pretty, medieval city of Zurich displays a range of ornate clocks that are hundreds of years old. One is made of wood, and is from the 1600s.

While such incredibly old pieces of work exist, Marc says the manufacture of one of the symbols of Switzerland is changing.

"If we look at the watch business, we can see about 80% of the workforce are foreigners from France, from Italy, from Germany."

Immigration is a hot topic in Switzerland. About one in four people here are foreigners. That's one of the highest proportions of foreign residents in the world.

"Immigration has always been an issue here," Marc says, but he welcomes the non-Swiss workers to his industry.

"It helps the Swiss industry. They earn a bit less, but get more money than most of their citizens at home. Everyone profits."

SOURCE-http://www.bbc.com/news