what was then West Germany and Switzerland. Büsingen am Hochrhein officially became part of the Swiss customs area. It had been in a de facto customs union with Switzerland since 1947. At the same time, the West German exclave of Verenahof, consisting of just three houses and eleven West German citizens, did become part of Switzerland. In a 1919 referendum, 81% of the people of Vorarlberg voted to join Switzerland, but the effort failed because of the ambivalent position of the Swiss government and the opposition of the Allied powers. The Swiss government expressed willingness to consider the accession of Vorarlberg to Switzerland, mostly in order to prevent its incorporation into Germany. Changes to the Swiss border made after 1945 include the addition of the Lago di Lei barrage to Switzerland in the 1950s, and the exchange of an area of 1,578 square meters with France in 2002. Proposals for expansion Since the formation of Baden-Württemberg in 1952, there had been no longer any serious political scenarios of South German territories seceding to Switzerland. The idea was revived, at least in popular discourse, in the context of growing Euroscepticism since the late 2000s. A poll by ORF radio in October 2008 reported that about half of the population of Vorarlberg would be in favour of joining Switzerland. In the Swiss parliament, a 2010 motion was submitted by Jurassian representative Dominique Baettig and co-signed by Swiss People's Party (SVP) party chairman Toni Brunner. The motion proposed to offer territories adjacent to Switzerland the "Swiss model of sovereignty" as an alternative to a "creeping accession" of Switzerland to the "centralist" European Union (EU). As possible candidates for accession, the motion named Alsace (FR), Aosta (IT), South Tyrol (IT), Jura (FR), Vorarlberg (AT), Ain (FR), Savoy (FR), Baden-Württemberg (DE), Varese (IT), Como (IT) "and others". The motion was widely seen as anti-EU rhetoric rather than a serious proposal. In a statement of 19 May 2010, the Swiss Federal Council recommended its rejection, describing the motion as a "provocation". It argued that its adoption would be considered an unfriendly act by the countries surrounding Switzerland, and that it would also be at odds with international law, which in the government's view does not provide for a right to secession except in exceptional circumstances. The topic attracted the attention of the European media. The media went on to report a high level of apparent popular