Brought to you by Winbiz online accounting for Swiss businesses. A survey published this month shows that two thirds of Swiss companies find the administrative burden in Switzerland high or fairly high. Of the 2,042 companies surveyed in the autumn of 2018, 67.5% considered the burden of Swiss bureaucracy high or fairly high. The same percentage in […]
Archives for 2019
Swiss vote on gun law changes on 19 May 2019
Following the gun attacks in Paris and Brussels, the EU tightened gun rules in 2017. In 2018, the government of Switzerland, a nation outside the EU but within the Schengen area, changed its laws on guns to reflect european laws. The Schengen area is a visa-free zone covering most of the EU and the non-EU nations […]
Switzerland slides one place in 2019 press freedom ranking
In 2019, Switzerland lost one place slipping from 5th to 6th place out of 180, according to the latest world ranking of press freedom by the organisation Reporters Without Borders. The change was largely driven by the stronger performance of Denmark, which moved up into 5th place. According to the report, the press in Switzerland […]
Swiss vote could cause chaos at Swiss airports
A referendum aimed at rejecting changes to Swiss gun laws scheduled for 19 May 2019 could cause major disruption at airports in Zurich and Geneva if it succeeds, according to various newspapers. If the vote is successful it might eventually lead to the exclusion of Switzerland from the Schengen area. If this happened, immigration staff […]
The 3 things driving Geneva’s residents to shop in France
A recent study by Geneva’s department of economic development (DDE) looks at the shopping habits of its residents and the residents of neighbouring Vaud and neighbouring France – an area including Nyon and parts of the French Ain and Haute Savoie regions. Every year, the residents of this greater Geneva region spend around CHF 7.2 […]
Switzerland’s workforce participation – Swiss versus foreigners
In 2018, 68.5% of the nation’s residents aged 15 or older was working, 1.5% more than in 2010. This rise was largely driven by an increase in the percentage of women in the workforce. In 2010, 60.0% were working. By 2018, 62.9% were, a rise of 2.9%. On the other hand, the overall percentage of […]
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? – one of the BEST films of the year
By Neptune CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? **** I just saw – belatedly, recommended by a kind friend – one of the BEST films of the year. RUN to it (at Cine17) before it’s gone! It’s not only English-language, but a true New York flick (somewhat in the vein of “Midnight Cowboy”), brilliantly directed by […]
Basel terrorist plot uncovered
According to various media reports, fuel tanks at a port in Basel were at the heart of an attack planned for this January by the so called Islamic State, reported the newspaper 20 Minutes. Files describing the plan, designed to trigger “economic disaster”, were discovered on a hard disk left behind by IS members during […]
Question of the week: why don’t we mourn the loss of rainforests as deeply as that of Notre Dame?
Both are exquisite and irreplaceable but only one can be rebuilt. In 2017, 158,000 km2 of tropical forest was destroyed, much of it on purpose. This is an area more than half the size of Italy. In addition, tropical forests could be critical for our survival. They hold carbon, support irreplaceable ecosystems and might contain […]
Greenpeace attacks Nestlé’s office in Vevey over plastic waste
This week, Greenpeace activists protested against single-use plastic in front of Nestlé’s headquarters in Vevey, according to the newspaper Le Matin. One group of protesters, carrying a plastic monster made from plastic waste that has been touring Europe after arriving in Rotterdam from the Philippines, demanded that Nestlé take back its plastic monster. Take back […]
