Ueli Maurer, Switzerland’s finance minister, is concerned about Switzerland’s finances after a recent round of decisions to substantially increase public spending. During June 2022, Switzerland’s parliament agreed to significant increases to spending on the army, healthcare and the environment. The situation is not sustainable Maurer told SRF. In June, parliament agreed to boost military spending […]
Switzerland’s underground freight project gets start date
This week, a project to build an underground freight tunnel network stretching from Geneva to St Gallen, was given a start date of 1 August 2022 by the Federal Council, reported RTS. The Cargo sous terrain (CST) project will connect Switzerland’s key hubs starting in 2031. CST aims to take the strain off the road […]
French speaking politicians not always understood in Bern
Switzerland has four national languages but most of the population is fluent in only one of them. When politicians come together in Bern they generally speak in their home language assuming others present understand them, even if they cannot really speak the language spoken. This week, Pierre Nebel, a reporter at RTS, explored the level […]
No tax cuts on fuel in Switzerland
This week, Switzerland’s upper house rejected proposals to cut the tax on fuel to counteract the impact of sharp price rises, reported RTS. Neighbours France, Germany, Italy and Austria have all cut the tax on fuel. But Switzerland hasn’t. The Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) has been pushing for one, arguing that its justified by the […]
Migros to stay alcohol free after clear no vote
On 16 June 2022, the Swiss supermarket Migros announced that its members had voted in favour of maintaining a ban on the sale of alcohol in its stores, restaurants and takeaway outlets across all 10 of its regional cooperatives. With record voter participation of more than 630,000 members (29%) – members were offered free chocolate […]
Swiss central bank surprises market with interest rate hike
On 16 June 2022, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) surprised markets with a 50 basis point rise to its policy rate. The move marks the first time Switzerland’s central bank has raised rates since 2007. Aimed at taming inflation, the announcement led to a 2% jump in value of the Swiss franc against the Euro […]
Swiss airspace closed after computer failure
On 15 June 2022, Swiss airspace was closed after a computer malfunction. At 6:30 am the Swiss air navigation service provider Skyguide reported a technical malfunction and announced the closure of Swiss airspace for safety reasons. Two hours later at 8:30 am Skyguide reported that the technical malfunction had been resolved. The outage affected several […]
Switzerland adopts latest round of EU sanctions against Russia
On 10 June 2022, Switzerland’s government adopted the latest set of EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including an embargo on crude oil and certain refined petroleum imports from Russia. The sanctions are the sixth package and were adopted by the EU on 3 June 2022. An embargo on oil imports from Russia by sea […]
Swiss minister calls on unions to negotiate pay rises
As the cost of living rises in Switzerland some are calling for pay increases. Guy Parmelin, Switzerland’s economics and education minister, says it is the responsibility of unions to negotiate pay rises, reports RTS. In an interview with the newspaper SonntagsBlick, Parmelin said it’s up to unions to negotiate wage rises. The government should not […]
SWISS cancels summer flights due to staff shortages
On 7 June 2022, Swiss International Air Lines announced that around 2% of passengers on scheduled flights to destinations in Germany, Poland, UK and Los Angeles would be affected. A SWISS spokesperson said that bottlenecks at air control centres, ground and airport services in Europe and at SWISS were to blame. Personnel shortages at the […]
