Recently, a 72 year old man was fined CHF 90 francs after he bought a train ticket on his phone 1.5 minutes after his train departed, reported Le Matin. On 11 January 2022, the man caught a train from Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau. Trying to buy his ticket before boarding, the man found […]
Switzerland may be forced to leave Schengen warns Swiss minister
This week, Karin Keller-Sutter, Switzerland’s minister of police and justice, warned a gathering of EU ministers that Switzerland could be forced to leave the Schengen zone if a referendum scheduled for 15 May 2022 is successful, reported RTS. The Schengen zone, which now includes 28 states and allows passport-free movement across much of western Europe, […]
99% of Swiss emergency sirens pass the test
Every year, Switzerland tests its apocalyptic-sounding sirens on the first Wednesday of February. This year it was done on 2 February 2022 at 13:30. The tests finished at 14:00 for general sirens, and 15:00 for flood sirens. If an alarm sounds outside of these times it is not a test. This year’s test revealed that […]
Swiss government aims to cut welfare benefits paid to some foreigners
In response to rising welfare costs, Switzerland’s Federal Council has put forward a proposal to cut the amounts paid to non-EU immigrants in Switzerland, reported RTS. Between 2010 and 2019, the cost of welfare in Switzerland rose by CHF 0.9 billion to CHF 2.8 billion (+47%), straining the finances of some cantons and municipalities. The […]
Swiss government forecasts 12 billion francs spending on roads
Switzerland’s federal government expects to spend CHF 8 billion repairing federal roads and another CHF 4 billion extending them between 2024 and 2027, it announced this week. Maintenance, noise proofing and other upgrades to the existing road network are expected to consume CHF 8.4 billion between 2024 and 2027, an average annual cost of CHF […]
Swiss exports soar to a new record in 2021
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic weighed heavily on Swiss foreign trade. But in 2021, exports bounced back, rising 15.2% to reach a record high of CHF 260 billion. The sharp jump in exports in 2021 caused Switzerland’s trade surplus to reach CHF 58.7 billion, despite rising imports, which were pushed up by rising energy prices […]
Switzerland experienced fewer stronger earthquakes in 2021
Switzerland is a nation lying across a number of significant fault lines making it highly exposed to the risk of earthquakes. The mountainous canton of Valais is the region at highest risk, followed by Basel, Graubünden, the St. Gallen Rhine Valley, and central Switzerland. The largest earthquake in Switzerland’s recorded history occurred in Basel in […]
Switzerland remains in top 10 for lowest corruption
Switzerland was ranked tenth in the latest 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) published by Transparency International this week. The index ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, with results ranging from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). This year’s index reveals that corruption levels are at […]
Price of wood pellets rises sharply in Switzerland
The price of wood pellets in Switzerland is up 20% over the last 12 months, according to Patrick Schmutz, a wood pellet expert, reports RTS. According to Schmutz, the price rise is due to a cold 12 months, especially last spring, and the success of wood pellet heating. More and more pellet-based heating systems are […]
Electric scooter accidents on the rise in Switzerland
With more and more electric scooters on Swiss streets every year the number of accidents is rising. In 2021, there were around 2,500 accidents involving electric scooters in Switzerland, according to an estimate by Suva, a public insurer. The latest figure is three times the 800 accidents involving electric scooters estimated by Suva in 2019. […]
