A commission of the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, is in favour of new rules to protect whistleblowers. The proposed rules, which would help to protect those who expose secretive information or activity that is deemed illegal or unethical, were supported by 6 commission votes to 2 with 4 abstentions. The proposal, which would […]
Swiss parliamentary commission supports fuel tax hike
The parliamentary environmental commission has endorsed a plan to increase the taxes on fuel in Switzerland. Following support for a fuel tax increase by the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, the commission said it supports a rise of 10 cents a litre until 2024 and 12 cents a litre from 2025. These increases are […]
Swiss government cuts drug prices by 100 million francs
Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) recently announced it had reduced the price Swiss healthcare providers and patients will pay for 257 drugs by 16.3%. These lower prices, which take affect on 1 December 2019, are expected to save CHF 100 million annually. The FOPH looked at the prices of 478 drugs and achieved […]
Minimum Swiss internet speed to triple in 2020
The Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, has confirmed a decision made by parliament to raise the minimum speed of broadband internet connections in Switzerland. From 1 January 2020, the minimum download speed specified in Switzerland’s universal service agreement with Swisscom will rise from 3 to 10 megabits per second (Mbits/s) and the minimum upload speed will […]
Switzerland ranked 2nd best place to be a woman
With an overall score of 0.893 Switzerland was beaten only by Norway (0.904) in the 2019 Women, Peace, and Security Index, which ranks 167 countries on women’s equality and well being. The top ten countries were all in Europe while the worst ten were spread across central Asia, the middle east and Africa. The index […]
Woman set to lose Swiss citizenship
Last month Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) stripped a dual national of his Swiss nationality. Now it has started the process of removing Swiss nationality from a woman who is also a citizen of France and Tunisia, according to Le Matin. SEM recently announced in the Federal Gazette that it had started the process of […]
Swiss remain world’s richest in 2019
According to a recent report by the bank Credit Suisse, the Swiss are worth more on average than the residents of any other nation. The bank’s annual Global Wealth Report calculates average net worth per Swiss adult to be US$ 564,653 (CHF 560,643) at mid-2019. The median figure was US$ 227,891 (CHF 226,273). Switzerland’s combined […]
Suicide doctor convicted in Geneva
Geneva-based doctor Pierre Beck, vice-president of the assisted suicide organisation Exit, who helped a 86 year old woman end her life has been convicted by a Geneva court, according to the newspaper Le Matin. The retired doctor was sentenced to a 120-day suspended sentence and a fine of CHF 2,400 for helping an 86 year […]
Swiss central bank makes 388 million from negative interest rates
The Swiss National Bank (SNB), Switzerland’s central bank, has earned CHF 388 million from negative interest rates since introducing them in 2014 to tame the rising strength of the Swiss Franc, according to the newspaper SonntagsBlick. On 15 January 2015, the SNB announced that it was abandoning its policy of maintaining an exchange rate cap […]
Swiss fact: it is illegal to drive with your lights off during the day
In Switzerland, it is compulsory to drive with lights on during the day. The law came into force on 1 January 2014, as part of a package of rules to reduce accidents, known as Via Sicura. The lights rule is set out in article 41 of the Swiss federal road transport act and also applies […]
