Switzerland: Passed Referendum to Limit EU Immigration

In Switzerland, a referendum passed that would limit the amount of immigration coming from the European Union.  While Switzerland is not in the EU, it does have treaties with the EU.  One of those treaties grants freedom of movement to and from Switzerland (almost akin to the freedom of movement within the EU).  This referendum will likely put an end to that freedom of movement.  The cause for this movement seems to have been a result of that freedom of movement, for that has also caused reactions throughout the other EU member states, yet Switzerland is free to cancel some of those treaties whereas the EU member states would have a difficult time restricting immigration laws since it could violate EU laws.  This referendum will have repercussions; as an EU MP said, "If Switzerland suspends immigration from the EU, it will not be able to count on all the economic and trade benefits it is currently enjoying. We will not allow ... cherry-picking."  At the end of the article, there seems to be a counter to the statement, "Swiss voters generally have a history of voting down proposals that they feel could hurt their country's economic success story or threaten its competitiveness."  This statement seems apparent, for Switzerland is one of the best examples of a direct democracy, a system that thus far seems to have worked for Switzerland despite the glaring flaws of a such a system on a large scale.  The question now is, how negative of an impact will this referendum have on the Swiss economy?  It might be that in order to negate the full power of any economic "sanctions" from the EU, the immigration limits will appear negligible in comparison to the current immigration rates.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/09/us-swiss-vote-immigration-idUSBREA180H220140209