Swiss voters on Sunday approved plans to join the EU's passport-free zone, an indication that Switzerland is moving away from its traditional isolation in the region.
In final results of the referendum, 55 percent of voters agreed to join the EU's Schengen and Dublin accords, which Parliament ratified last year.
Although Switzerland is not a union member, under the Schengen accord, which was already adopted by 15 nations, it will dismantle passport controls at its borders with other countries in the zone and increase security cooperation.
The Dublin accord harmonizes asylum procedures among members of the group.
President Samuel Schmid said at a news conference in Bern that the result "will allow Switzerland to intensify its cooperation with the EU."
In a poll taken two weeks ago, 55 percent of those asked said they would vote "yes." It was unclear whether the recent votes in France and the Netherlands to reject the EU Constitution had any impact, though the outcome indicates that the 10 percent of potential voters who were neutral or undecided might have moved into the "no" camp.
The far-right Swiss People's Party might also have reduced support in the past few weeks by linking the referendum to fears about immigration, unemployment and crime.
On Sunday, Swiss voters also agreed to allow homosexual couples to register their relationships.
The law gives same-sex couples the same legal rights as married couples in financial matters like taxes. But it stops short of allowing them to adopt children or obtain access to fertility treatment.
For Switzerland, which has carefully guarded its neutrality in foreign affairs for much of the past 400 years, an agreement to join accords like Schengen and Dublin shows how things are changing.
The government, which supports eventual membership in the EU, says that cross-border threats such as terrorism and organized crime mean the country has to work closely with other nations.
Since the early 1990s, voters have twice rejected plans to begin negotiations to join the union, which now has 25 members.
The government acknowledges that Swiss voters are still far from backing membership.
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