An internal EU commission letter says that without a framework agreement Swiss-EU agreements granting access to the EU single market will only be changed if it is in the EU’s interest, according to the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) and the Keystone-SDA news agency. The letter dated 10 January 2019 and signed by Martin Selmayr, […]
CERN unveils plan for new super-sized collider
Over the next two years the possibility of a new particle collider will be discussed, according to a recent press release from CERN. The new particle accelerator would dwarf the existing one. 100km in circumference, it would form an underground circle containing an area more than three times the size of the canton of Geneva, […]
Swiss unemployment lowest in 10 years
Switzerland’s unemployment rate, now 2.6%, hasn’t been so low for 10 years, according to the latest figures from Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). A weakening of the Swiss franc helped boost Switzerland’s economic growth, creating more jobs. The unemployment rate among young workers (15-24) dropped 0.7% to 2.4% as did unemployment among the […]
Geneva continues to refuse school places to cross-border workers
Last year the courts invalidated the canton’s refusal to offer school places to children living in France. According to the newspaper Tribune de Genève, the canton continues to refuse these children places in its schools. In 2016, around 1,500 children living in France were going to school in Geneva. In 2017, things changed. 143 of […]
Swiss democracy continues to suffer from low participation
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2018 Democracy Index classified only 20 out of 165 countries as having fully functioning democracies in 2018. 14 were in Europe. Globally, democracy remained stable in 2018 according to the report. Only 4.5% of the world’s population (12% of countries) lives in a fully functioning democracy. Overall, the ranking shows a […]
Swiss Big Mac prices suggest Swiss franc still overvalued
On 10 January 2019, the Economist came out with its latest Big Mac index, which compares the price of a Big Mac around the world. The index uses the burger to compare the relative purchasing power of different currencies. Countries where Big Macs cost less than in the United States (in US$ terms) are deemed to […]
Swiss to vote on gun law changes
After the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, the EU decided to tighten firearms laws in member states and nations with EU agreements, such as Switzerland. Unhappy, a group of gun owners decided to launch a referendum against the pending changes. According to the organizers, the required number of 50,000 signatures has been presented […]
Government looks at anti-sound radars in Geneva
A parliamentary commission in Geneva is considering developing a radar to measure vehicle noise. The motion, put forward by the Greens and supported by others, is aimed at the noisiest road users. 13 out of 15 political parties are in favour of the plan. Only the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) was against it. The party […]
Running a Swiss business – changes in 2019
Nearly every year brings administrative changes for business owners and managers. The five most likely to be felt by Swiss SMEs this year are set out below. 1. Social insurance taxes The three main ones (AVS, AI, APG) remain the same in 2019. Together they come to 10.25% of salary, of which half is deducted […]
Federal council calls for more six-lane motorways in Switzerland
Currently, only 100 km (6.8%) of Switzerland’s national motorway network has six lanes – typically three in each direction. 1,311 km (90%) of the network has four lanes, with a remaining 47 km (3.2%) consisting of five lanes. According to NZZ am Sonntag, and reported in 20 Minutes, the Federal Council wants to expand the […]
