Switzerland’s public price watchdog chief, Stefan Meierhans, also know as “Mr Price”, has taken aim at high Swiss drug prices. A report published last week shows prices of generic drugs are nearly 2.4 times more expensive in Switzerland compared to the average price across 15 european countries. Generic drugs in the Netherlands cost 8% of what […]
Archives for February 2017
Bank drops plan to loosen Swiss mortgage restrictions
The bank Raiffeisen has dropped its attempt to reduce minimum deposit requirements for home loans, according to RTS. Last autumn, it unveiled plans to reduce loan deposit requirements. However, last week, the bank announced that FINMA, Switzerland’s financial regulator, was opposed to the idea. FINMA sets guidelines for mortgage lending in Switzerland which banks follow. […]
Swiss fact: 78,000 drivers lost their licences in Switzerland in 2016
In 2016, 78,043 drivers had their licences taken away in Switzerland, 2.7% fewer than the year before. The main reasons for licence confiscation were: speeding (37%), alcohol (19%) and inattention (11%). 65% of those who had their licence taken away lost it for 3 months or less, while 30% lost theirs for an unlimited period […]
How French communes near Geneva are combatting residence fraud
Antoine Vielliard, the mayor of the French commune Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, which borders the canton of Geneva, is after those who live in France but pretend to live in Geneva. In a radio interview on Swiss broadcaster RTS, he explains how they estimate the level of fraud and how they are combatting it. Across neighbouring France an […]
Heavy snow warning for parts of western Switzerland
Swiss Meteo warns of heavy snow tomorrow in the region stretching from Aigle, in Vaud, through to the region around the Grand St. Bernard pass in the canton of Valais. Snow of between 40 cm to 70 cm is expected above 800 m. The affected region includes the Swiss ski resorts of Leysin, Villars, Torgon, Morgin […]
Soft drink tax proposal criticized by industry
20 Minutes. Vaud state councillor Pierre-Yves Maillard has proposed a new cantonal tax on soft drinks to fund dental care. The plan would combine the money raised by this tax with a new social security tax of up to 0.06% of salaries. The combined projected CHF 38 million collected, would fund 50% of dental care costs […]
Geneva plans to offer permits to thousands of illegal immigrants
Tribune de Genève. After more than 15 years, Geneva State councillor Pierre Maudet unveiled a plan code named operation Papyrus. The operation was negotiated with Switzerland’s federal government to regularise some of Geneva’s illegal immigrants, mainly domestic workers. Under the operation, 590 residence permits have already been granted. Pierre Maudet said “Papyrus is a roadmap for […]
Nearly 320,000 cross-border workers in Switzerland
20 Minutes. Foreign residents close to Switzerland’s borders continue to be drawn to the country to work. In 2016, the number of cross-border workers climbed by 11,300 to close to 320,000. After slowing, the number crossing into the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino is on the rise again. In 2011, there were 251,700 crossing into Switzerland […]
Scabies reappears in Swiss schools
20 Minutes. Scabies, a disease also known as the seven year itch, has reappeared in Swiss schools. The contagious skin infection is cased by a mite and is spread through skin contact and occasionally by sharing clothes. In French it is called gale. In german it goes by the name of Krätze. Symptoms include intense itching and a […]
Swiss fact: one in seven Swiss drink no alcohol
A recent report1 shows that around 1 in 7 Swiss drink no alcohol. Of the 13.8% who avoid alcohol completely, 6.5% have avoided it all their lives, while a further 7.3% are former drinkers who haven’t consumed alcohol over the last 12 months. The number of Swiss non-drinkers has climbed since 2011 when only 11.7% […]