This week, the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, followed parliament and approved presumed consent for organ donation in Switzerland, reported RTS. In response to an initiative launched to put the question of presumed consent of organ donation to Swiss voters, the Federal Council came up with a counterproposal that presumes consent but gives those […]
Swiss minister accused of breaking constitutional principle
Constitutionally, the title of president in Switzerland is only ceremonial. All seven members of the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, have equal power and are required to govern by harmonious consensus, a principle known as collegiality. This means that all federal councillors are expected to present a united front to the public even when they don’t […]
Switzerland moves closer to paying second 1 billion to EU
After Switzerland ended talks with the EU on an institutional framework agreement aimed at replacing the country’s current patchwork of agreements with the bloc in May 2021, some in government have been focused on how to keep the EU on side. One obvious way to curry favour is to make the second 1 billion EU […]
New call for compulsory military service for Swiss women
This week, the Swiss Officers’ Society, a military association, announced that it was in favour of extending compulsory military service to both men and women, according to 20 Minutes. The association submitted a report, which included the recommendation to include compulsory service to women to Viola Amherd, Switzerland’s minister in charge of defense. Society president […]
Swiss anti-Covid certificate referendum gets record number of signatures
Launching a vote to repeal a Swiss law requires 50,000 voter signatures be collected within 100 days. A group opposed to a Swiss law allowing the issuance of voluntary Covid certificates gathered more than 187,000 signatures in 4 weeks, setting a new record, according to 20 Minutes. Collecting as many as 187,433 signatures in the […]
How the Swiss government gets paid to borrow
Normally, those who borrow must pay out more money than they are lent in the form of interest and repayments. Currently, for the Swiss government it is the other way around. Lenders are paying the Swiss federal government to give it money. On 14 July 2021, the Swiss Confederation announced the success of its latest […]
Swiss social spending up nearly 60% in 20 years
In 1999, social expenditure in Switzerland was CHF 13,370 per resident. By 2019, the same figure had reached CHF 21,300, a rise of nearly 60%. Over the same period, total inflation was around 11%. Applying inflation to CHF 13,370 brings the figure to CHF 14,480. So why has the cost risen beyond this and how […]
Swiss president warns EU against reprisal after collapsed negotiation
Last week, negotiations between Switzerland and the EU ended after failure to find agreement on key elements of a deal governing the relationship between Switzerland and the bloc. Over the weekend, Switzerland’s president Guy Parmelin defended the abrupt break in negotiations and sent a clear message to EU strategists in Brussels. Speaking to the newspaper […]
Unisex toilets find political support in Vaud
A majority of Vaud’s parliament voted in favour of looking at a proposal to exempt those providing toilets to the public from the current legal requirement to provide separate toilets for men and women, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. Under the proposal, put forward by Vassilis Venizelos of the Green Party, establishments, such as […]
Swiss government says no to EU deal
At its meeting on 26 May 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Council evaluated the results of Switzerland’s negotiations with the EU around the institutional framework agreement, an agreement aimed at replacing the country’s current patchwork of agreements with the bloc, and decided not to sign the document as it stands and communicated its decision to Brussels. The […]
