Switzerland

In Switzerland, everyone should be able to use the same charger for different mobile phones, laptops or tablets from different manufacturers. The government is introducing USB-C as a uniform national standard from the beginning of 2024.

Other devices with wireless components such as e-readers, headphones and digital cameras are also included in the requirement. To this end, the federal government approved the revision of the Ordinance on Telecommunications Equipment (FAV), as announced by the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) on Wednesday. ...

According to the Federal Court, the relatively short duration of a rape – 11 minutes in this particular case – can play a role in determining the sentence of a perpetrator.

In 2021, the Basel Court of Appeal reduced the sentence for a rapist and justified this by stating, among other things, that the crime had only lasted 11 minutes. In addition, the victim had sent out the wrong signals before the crime. The court’s decision led to protests in several cities. Around 500 people gathered in front of the court in Basel and held their arms up in silence for 11 minutes – as long as the rape had lasted. ...

Three quarters of Swiss are satisfied with the education system according to a survey published on Thursday.

In French-speaking Switzerland, 82% of those surveyed said they were satisfied or fairly satisfied with the school system, compared with 72% in the German-speaking part of the country. In Ticino, the figure is 79%. In the Romansch-speaking part of the country, the satisfaction rate is lowest, at 69%, according to a gfs.bern survey commissioned by Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and published on Thursday. ...

The Swiss government will begin collecting data from commodity trading companies as the war in Ukraine highlights the importance of the sector both domestically and for foreign policy, the Federal Council said in a statement on Wednesday.

Currently there are no official figures in Switzerland on the commodity trading industry’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product or on goods traded by locally-based companies. The government’s statistics bureau will request information from around 400 companies over the next three years, it said.

The move comes as Switzerland is juggling the implementation of Western sanctions against Russian resources with its status as a major hub for trading the country’s energy, grains and metals and a history of neutrality in international conflicts. ...

A new voluntary electronic identity (e-ID) scheme, overseen by the Swiss authorities, could be launched as early as 2026 in the Alpine country. The federal government unveiled its proposal on Wednesday following a consultation process.

Almost three years after Swiss voters rejected a private e-ID scheme at the ballot box, the Federal Council has presented its proposal for the introduction of a state-run system on Wednesday. It now goes to parliament to be discussed.

The government’s new e-ID proposal is not a copy of the failed bill, Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider told the media in Bern on Wednesday. “It has been revised from A to Z,” she said.

A wide range of opinions have been considered during the drafting process. Over one hundred comments were received during the consultation process. ...

The Swiss government will continue to limit the number of Croatian nationals wanting to work in Switzerland in 2024, it said on Wednesday.

Access to the Swiss labour market will again be restricted for Croatian nationals in 2024. On Wednesday, the Federal Council extended the safeguard clause provided for in the European Union’s Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. Switzerland is not a member of the EU but signed the agreement in 1999.

Croatians have enjoyed complete freedom of movement for persons since January 1, 2022. But the safeguard clause in the EU agreement allows Switzerland to unilaterally reintroduce permit quotas for a limited period when immigration from Croatia exceeds a certain threshold. ...

Interest in electric cars appears to have fallen slightly in Switzerland, driven by factors like the lack of charging stations across the country, a study shows.

The willingness to buy electric cars has decreased in Switzerland compared to previous years, according to a study by the auto group Touring Club Suisse (TCS) published on Wednesday.

The lack of charging stations is an obstacle to buying a new electric vehicle for 65% of those surveyed; rising electricity prices have no influence.

Other reasons for choosing not to buy an electric car are the price, (41% of respondents), and its range (34%), according to the fifth annual electromobility study by TCS. ...

The Swiss government has decided to ratify an international treaty that would allow it to capture and export carbon dioxide (CO2) for storage deep beneath ocean floor sediments.

On Wednesday, the Federal Council decided to ratify an amendment to the 1996 Protocol to the 1972 Convention to the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, also known as the London Protocol. This would allow the export of CO2 for storage in sub-seabed geological formations from 2024. ...

Switzerland is drawing up legislation to ban the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organisation. A law will be proposed to parliament aimed at providing the necessary legal tools to counter any Hamas activities or support for the organisation in Switzerland.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Federal Council said it believes a Hamas ban to be the “most appropriate response” to the situation that has prevailed in the Middle East since October 7. ...

The Swiss federal government expects annual financial deficits of CHF2 billion-CHF3 billion ($2.3 billion - $3.4 billion) for 2025-2027, it said on Wednesday. Higher spending on migration, state pensions, defence and support towards health insurance premiums are to blame.

From 2025, Switzerland must expect persistent deficits of several billions, which will increase further in the coming years, the Federal Council said in a press release on Wednesday. The financial plan adopted this summer was already in deficit. ...

The Swiss government has granted canton Graubünden a basic licence for trials with electronic voting in federal votes. The authorisation is valid for a limited period until the vote on March 8, 2026.

At the same time, the Federal Chancellery has approved e-voting trials for the vote on March 3, 2024, it said on Wednesday.

In the first phase, voters in six pilot municipalities in Graubünden can register to vote electronically. For the first vote on March 3, 2024, the canton is requesting the approval of 12,000 voters.

Together with the voters who can vote electronically in cantons Basel City, St Gallen and Thurgau, around 77,000 voters are expected to be admitted to e-voting for the vote on March 3. This corresponds to around 1.4% of all Swiss voters. ...

Health and health insurance are the Swiss population’s biggest concerns, according to the Credit Suisse Worry Barometer. Environmental protection and pensions follow, while the war in Ukraine is no longer one of the main concerns.

In 2023 the research institute gfs.bern was again commissioned by Credit Suisse to survey the Swiss population on their concerns and identity characteristics. The main concerns were health issues and health insurance. Compared to the previous year, this topic has increased by 16 percentage points to 40%, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.

Environmental protection was thus replaced as the top concern of the previous year with 38%. In third place is the topic of old-age provision/retirement pensions with 32%. ...

The EU Commission has approved the joint declaration drawn up with Switzerland. It is also prepared to hold technical talks with Switzerland on the EU research programme Horizon Europe.

However, Valdis Dombrovskis, a vice president of the EU Commission, made it clear in response to a question from journalists in Strasbourg on Tuesday that the definitive negotiations on the EU programmes could only begin as part of the official negotiations on the package of agreements.

In a statement, the ETH Board welcomed “this positive development” and argued in favour of “Switzerland’s association with Horizon Europe as quickly and fully as possible”. ...

The Zurich cantonal police have arrested two Swiss nationals in canton Basel Country and seized stolen works of art worth several hundred thousand francs.

The paintings were allegedly stolen during a burglary in canton Bern in 2019.

The Zurich cantonal police announced on Monday that searches had already been carried out at the homes of the two detainees at the end of September. At the end of August, the police received information that allegedly stolen paintings were being sold at an auction house. ...

Research by Swiss public broadcaster SRF reveals that Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider wants to reduce the quota for workers from third countries despite criticism from cantons and businesses.

Immigration is an extremely sensitive topic, as the recent federal elections have shown. Permit quotas for people from third countries [outside of the European Union and EFTA] are a political hot potato. The Federal Council determines the number of quotas after consulting the cantons. ...

Police in the Swiss canton of Basel Land have discovered an illegal marijuana plantation in Muttenz.

More than 3,500 plants were seized and a 42-year-old Swiss man was arrested.

The illegal plantation was discovered two weeks ago during an inspection in an industrial building, cantonal police said on Monday. ...

According to the authorities in the Swiss canton of Valais, the planned removal of seven of its 13 resident wolf packs is no easy task.

It would be a great success if between 10 and 15 animals could be killed in the next two months.

Nicolas Bourquin, head of the Valais Office for Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife, told the media in Sion on Monday: "We have to remain realistic in terms of human resources, the nature of the terrain and the weather conditions in winter.”

The canton has set its sights on the packs in the regions of Nanztal, Augstbord, Hérens-Mandelon, Le Fou-Isérables, Les Toules, Les Hauts-Forts and Chablais. "That's a total of around 34 wolves and it will take some time," explained State Councillor Frédéric Favre, Head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport. ...

Bolivia has recovered three 900-year-old mummies that had been in the collections of the Geneva Museum of Ethnography (MEG) for over a century. The human remains had been brought to Switzerland by an engineer without authorisation.

“This is a fundamental event for our states and our peoples,” said Bolivian Minister of Culture, Decolonisation and Depatriarchalisation Sabina Orellana Cruz on Monday. The restitution ceremony, which took place at the MEG, was broadcast live on Bolivian state television.

The mummies, two adults and a child, will go to Bolivia’s National Museum of Archaeology. They come from the Coro Coro region, a town perched at an altitude of 4,000 metres, 80 kilometres southwest of the capital, La Paz. They date from before Inca cultural domination. ...

The interim abbot of Saint-Maurice in southwest Switzerland has been accused of sexual abuse in a report by Swiss public television, RTS. The previous abbot, whom the man replaced, is currently being investigated as part of the Catholic Church sex abuse affair.

The Greek and Latin teacher at the high school will no longer give lessons “until the facts have been clarified”.

“We take these revelations seriously and empathise with the victims,” the head of the Valais Department of Education, Jean-Philippe Lonfat, told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA on Monday. As far as he knew, the offences of which the man is accused were not connected to the college, Lonfat added. According to RTS, the interim abbot allegedly abused a novice. ...

Swiss union Unia reports that general pay rises in excess of 2.5%, and even above inflation, have been achieved in several sectors in Switzerland for 2024. “Union mobilisation is bearing fruit,” the organisation said on Monday.

In a press release, Unia outlines the improvements for next year and notes with satisfaction that “wages are once again keeping pace with inflation”.

Unia points out that this applies in particular to the arts and crafts and to the major collective labour agreements (CLAs) in the tertiary sector. The union added that this had provided “vital support for the purchasing power of 700,000 employees”, but warned that “even stronger action will be needed next year”. ...

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company, opposes the reduction in radio and television licence fees proposed by the government.

According to the SBC, the implementation of the counterproposal to the “CHF200 is enough!” initiative threatens to result in around 900 job losses by 2027.

Around the same number of jobs would be lost at suppliers and other third-party companies, the SBC announced in Bern on Monday. The reduction in staff would affect all SBC locations, including the regional studios. ...

The number of hospitalisations in Switzerland rose to 1.49 million in 2022, above the pre-pandemic level.

Outpatient consultations in hospitals remained unchanged compared to 2021. Almost two-fifths of hospitals recorded a deficit of over CHF1 million ($1.1 million).

The operating costs of all hospitals totalled CHF33.9 billion last year, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) revealed in the latest statistics on hospital operations on Monday. This was CHF1 billion more than in the previous year. ...

Damien Raemy from Fribourg is the new fondue world champion. He beat 200 competitors at the fourth Fondue World Championships, held in Tartegnin, canton Vaud.

Damien Raemy won the title with his mixture of Gruyère and Vacherin cheese. “It’s a fondue from home,” he told Swiss public television RTS on Sunday.

He is part of a family of cheesemakers from Corbières, canton Fribourg, where he makes Gruyère and Vacherin cheese together with 23 milk producers. ...

Recent Swiss-EU developments suggest that an end to Switzerland’s exclusion from key European research and education programmes may be discussed next year, says Luciana Vaccaro, head of swissuniversities, the umbrella group of Swiss universities.

“The two programmes [Horizon Europe and Erasmus+] finish at the end of 2027. If we want to be part of the discussions which will build the research and training programme after this date, we really need to be able to join the boat next year,” the president of swissuniversities told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Monday.

She was interviewed in Delémont ahead of the 25th anniversary of the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland (HES-SO) this Tuesday. She has been rector of the HES-SO for the past ten years. ...

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has been slammed for what a coalition of environmental NGOs says is its $9 billion (CHF7.9 billion) investment in 69 oil and gas fracking companies.

Fracking accounts for over half of SNB’s roughly $16 billion invested in fossil fuel extraction, according to the report published by SNB Coalition and Climate Alliance Switzerland.

A spokesperson for the SNB declined to comment. An SNB spokesperson told Le Matin Dimanche which wrote about the report earlier on Sunday that its investment policy is in line with “fundamental norms largely accepted in Switzerland” and that it’s constantly reviewing its portfolio. ...