Switzerland

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is making various adjustments to the interest rate on so-called sight deposits. This does not change the monetary policy orientation, the SNB emphasized in a statement on Monday.

Specifically, the SNB is reducing the factor for the limits that is used for the graduated interest rate on sight deposits. This will be reduced from 28 to 25 at the beginning of December.

The SNB key interest rate applies to sight deposits up to this limit, it said. Demand deposits above the limit bear interest at the SNB key interest rate less an interest discount of 0.5 percentage points. According to the SNB, the basis for calculating the limits remains unchanged.

In addition, sight deposits that are held to meet minimum reserves will no longer earn interest, the communiqué continues. ...

Effective wages rose by an average of 2.5% in the most important collective bargaining agreements (GAV) in 2023. The minimum wages increased by an average of 1.9%. This emerges from a survey by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Taking into account the inflation forecasts for 2023 of +2.2%, real wages in the GAV sector are likely to have increased slightly by 0.3%, as the BFS announced on Monday. Just over 655,000 people were affected by the effective wage adjustments. Collective employment agreements to which at least 1,500 people are subordinate were taken into account.

In contrast to the last two years, according to the FSO, the average increase in GAV wages in 2023 was mainly distributed among collective increases (+2.1%) and only 0.4% from individual increases. This means that 86% of the wages earmarked for wage increases were distributed equally to the people affected. Collective increases were larger in both the secondary and tertiary sectors.

Minimum wages also increased. Their growth was 1.9% in industry and 1.8% in the service sector. According to the survey, the largest wage adjustments in minimum wages occurred for employees in financial and insurance services (+3.7%), for commercial employees and sales staff (+2.9%) and for employees in the manufacturing sector (2.6%). ...

In the Swiss canton of Graubünden, 11 out of 12 wolf packs have bred this year. The authorities has so far been able to identify 46 puppies. With the exception of the Upper Engadine, wolf packs now live in all Graubünden valleys.

There is also evidence of individual wolves from all valleys in the canton with a low wolf presence to date. The cantonal office for hunting and fishing wrote this in the third quarterly report on large carnivores, which was published on Monday.

“Due to the high dynamics, it can be assumed that further pairs will form over the course of the winter months,” it said. It is still unclear how many wolves live in the canton. A cantonal estimate of the inventory has not yet been completed. In mid-September, the authorities estimated the number of wolves at over 100.

A female leader wolf killed the wild hat because of her poor physical condition and lack of an escape response. In addition, two young wolves were shot while regulating a pack. ...

The discovery of a natural hydrogen deposit in France could revolutionise the world’s energy supply. Switzerland is joining the search for this renewable energy source that releases no greenhouse gases when combusted. But all that glitters is not gold.

Hydrogen is considered a key element in the energy transition. It could replace petrol in cars and kerosene in aircraft, helping to bring about carbon-neutral mobility. But there is a catch: producing it gives off climate-damaging emissions. More than 90% of the hydrogen generated worldwide comes from fossil sources, mainly methane. Alternatives do exist, such as hydrogen obtained from renewable energy, but they are still expensive.

Interest is thus turning to naturally occurring hydrogen and the possibility of extracting it from deep below the Earth’s surface. Start-ups in the United States, Australia and Spain have already launched drilling projects and the recent discovery of deposits in France shows that this gas is not as rare as previously thought. Switzerland may also have reserves of natural hydrogen, and the first surveys carried out have shown promising results.

Here is everything you need to know about natural hydrogen, its characteristics and its potential as a fuel of the future.

How is natural hydrogen formed?

Earth produces hydrogen continuously through chemical reactions, mainly the oxidation of ferrous minerals and water radiolysis (that is, the decomposition of water molecules as a result of natural radioactivity). These reactions release hydrogen molecules (H2), which are usually present in combination with other elements, for instance oxygen in the case of water (H2O). The hydrogen rises to the surface or builds up in underground deposits.

How do natural and synthetic hydrogen differ?

The properties and chemical composition are the same and, in both cases, it is an odourless and highly flammable gas. The difference lies in how it is produced: natural hydrogen, which is known as white hydrogen, is generated deep in the earth’s crust, while synthetic hydrogen is created through chemical and industrial processes. ...

A Swiss delegation has called for greater decentralisation of the Church at the close of the Synod of Bishops in Rome on Saturday. For the first time, “non-bishop” men and women were able to vote, including Swiss delegate Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler.

Switzerland wants local churches to be able to decide for themselves on certain issues, says a press release issued by the Swiss Bishops' Conference (SBK) on Sunday. It also advocates “greater participation and involvement by all, and highlights the themes of priestly celibacy and the ordination of women”.

The Swiss delegation, led by SBK President Bishop Felix Gmür, also included Claire Jonard, expert facilitator at the Synod. ...

The Swiss National Bank’s vice president said the central bank lacked the means to save Credit Suisse from collapse in March.

In an interview with SonntagsBlick, Martin Schlegel said the severity of the lender’s liquidity problems caught the central bank and regulators off guard, and that the Swiss National Bank (SNB) couldn’t have rescued the troubled lender by providing more liquidity and positive messaging.

Credit Suisse’s “liquidity flowed out much faster than the regulators in Switzerland and abroad had expected,” Schlegel told the newspaper, stressing that the SNB had “no mandate” to save or take over the troubled lender.

Panicked investors pulled their money from the bank as the crisis mounted, and Credit Suisse didn’t have enough ready collateral to access sufficient funds from the Swiss central bank. The SNB in March introduced a special uncollateralized facility to bridge the bank until its rescue by UBS Group AG could be brokered. ...

Almost 34,600 people left the Catholic Church in Switzerland last year. That’s 300 more departures than the previous record figure from 2021.

At the end of 2022 the Catholic Church had 2.89 million members in Switzerland, according to the Swiss Pastoral Sociological Institute (SPI) on Sunday. The Swiss paper SonntagsBlick was the first to report on it.

The SPI expects the resignation figures to rise even further in 2023. The institute cites the report on the history of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland as the reason.

“In recent weeks and months, the Catholic Church has lost reputation and trust,” the SPI said. There’s talk of systematic cover-ups, protection of perpetrators and other allegations, it said. “This costs credibility.”

The cantons of Basel-City, Aargau and Solothurn recorded the most resignations in 2022. In contrast to resignations, admissions have been at a low level for years, according to the SPI. In 2022, 1,080 people joined the Catholic Church.

Protestant church faces similar trend

According to the survey, the Catholic Church is not alone in the high number of departures. Last year, 30,393 people left the Protestant Reformed Church. That is more than in 2021, when 28,540 resignations were registered. The membership of the Protestant Reformed Church in Switzerland was around 1.92 million at the end of 2022. ...

Switzerland was one of 120 countries, which backed a resolution at the UN General Assembly calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East. The resolution was supported by several Arab states and rejected by Israel and the United States.

The resolution was put forward by Jordan after several attempts to vote on a similar resolution failed at the UN Security Council. Some 120 countries in the UN General Assembly voted in favour of the resolution on Friday including several Arab states, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela. Some 14 voted against including Austria, Hungary, the United States and Israel. Some 45 abstained including several European countries such as Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.

The resolution condemns all violence against the Israeli and Palestinian civilian population, calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all “illegally detained” civilians and demands unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip. The resolution didn’t identify the Palestinian militant group Hamas as the reason for the escalation in violence. ...

Several hundred people took part in an Antifa "evening walk” in Bern on Saturday. The rally was not approved and, according to the Bern cantonal police, there were attacks against emergency services and numerous cases of property damage.

The police protected various buildings, including the theatre (Stadttheater) and accompanied the procession with a large contingent. The police initially let the demonstrators have their way, as a reporter from the Keystone-SDA news agency reported.

Many of the demo participants were masked and set off firecrackers. There was also spray painting and property damage along the route. In one neighbourhood, the windows of a bank branch were smashed. The cantonal police temporarily closed traffic in some sections of the city. ...

Several hundred people gathered in Zurich on Saturday afternoon for a rally for “a free Palestine”. The city of Zurich approved the demonstration.

The organisers called in advance to bring only Palestinian flags. Anti-Semitic statements were strictly forbidden, the appeal said.

On Helvetiaplatz there were almost only large and small Palestinian flags as well as Kufyia, also known as “Arafat fabric”, as a reporter from Keystone-SDA observed.

Similar demonstrations are also planned in Bern, Basel and Geneva on Saturday afternoon. ...

Despite their defeat in Sunday's parliamentary elections, the Greens are determined to make a run for a government seat, party president Balthasar Glättli announced on Saturday.

“The climate needs to be represented on the Federal Council,” Glättli told reporters. “The old magic formula is definitely dead,” he continued. The magic formula refers to the division of the seven cabinet seats among the four main political parties.

The Greens, who achieved their second-best ever result with a 9.8% share of the electorate in Sunday’s election, are entitled to a seat in the government, according to him.

The Greens lost five seats in the House of Representatives in last Sunday’s elections and now have 23 seats. They lost 3.4 percentage points of voter share nationally. Despite these significant losses, they remain the fifth strongest force. ...

The Legal Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives has adopted a draft text on Friday, which provides for the possibility of giving a double surname to children.

The draft is more flexible than under the old law. In addition, it would be possible for husbands and wives or registered partners to decide, independently of each other, to bear a double name, with or without a hyphen.

Peter-Müller or Müller-Peter

Under the draft, couples would have two choices: either they take a joint surname so that both spouses bear an identical double name. Thus, they would both be called Müller-Peter.

Or each will keep his or her unmarried name, to which he or she can add the partner’s name. Thus, one would be called Müller-Peter, and the other Peter-Müller.

Contrary to its original intention, the commission wants to allow children to bear a double name, formed from the parents' names.

People who are already married or living in a registered partnership, as well as minor children of married or unmarried parents, are to be given the opportunity, by means of a simple declaration, to subsequently form a double name in accordance with the new law.

Change in 2013

Since 2013, engaged couples have had two options. At the time of marriage, they can keep their single name or choose one of the two as their joint surname.

The option for married couples to officially bear a double name without hyphens – like Susanne Leutenegger Oberholzer – disappeared. However, as an example, Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter can continue to call herself by this name, as it has no legal value. ...

Criminal proceedings against FIFA President Gianni Infantino over his dealings with former Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber have been closed, Swiss prosecutors said on Thursday, a decision Infantino hailed as a vindication of “the new FIFA”.

Infantino was elected in 2016 to clean up world football’s Zurich-based governing body FIFA after it became embroiled in corruption scandals.

However, Swiss authorities launched proceedings against Infantino himself in 2020 on suspicions of secrecy violations, abuse of office and aiding and abetting related to meetings he held with Lauber.

In ending the proceedings, prosecutors said their investigations had “invalidated” such suspicions.

Swiss-Italian Infantino, who had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, said the decision was a “full and clear victory for me, for the new FIFA and for justice”.

“Indeed and with no surprise, the investigation fully and clearly confirms that I have always acted in a lawful and correct way, always defending exclusively the interests of FIFA and football,” Infantino said. ...

The Swiss healthcare system has recently produced one tonne of CO2 emissions per year per inhabitant, according to Lausanne’s chief physician Nicolas Senn. Measures such as more energy-efficient buildings would already greatly reduce emissions, he said.

The Swiss health system is responsible for 6-8% of the country’s total CO2 emissions, Senn said in an interview with Le Temps published on Friday. The health system would even consume the entire CO2 budget if Switzerland wanted to comply with the Paris climate agreement, he said.

Senn is head of the Department of Family Medicine at the Unisanté University Health Centre in Lausanne. He is also co-head of the Platform for Sustainability and Health of the Faculty of Biology and Medicine at the University of Lausanne. ...

The experts sent by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the federal elections in Switzerland last Sunday will address in their report the counting error made by the Federal Statistical Office. The report should be available in roughly two months' time.

"The information that has reached us in the last few days, for example about the counting, will definitely be included in this report and the recommendations," Katya Andrusz, a spokesperson for the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Thursday. However, she said it was still too early to draw any final conclusions.

A good ten days before the election last Sunday, three experts from the OSCE had travelled to Switzerland. They came from Greece, Spain and Belarus. The mission ended on Thursday.

The focus of the monitoring was on party and campaign financing, online voting pilots and the participation of persons with disabilities in the electoral process. For the first time, national rules on the disclosure of campaign budgets and donations to campaigns and political actors were applicable during an election.

The three experts plan to deliver a report in about two months' time. The ODIHR sent the team at the invitation of Switzerland, the OSCE wrote. ...

Campaigners for a citizens' service initiative have succeeded. The committee submitted 107,764 signatures validated by the authorities to the Federal Chancellery on Thursday.

The aim of the initiative "For a Switzerland that gets involved" (so-called citizens' service initiative) is to get all young people involved in working for the community and the environment, instead of just young Swiss men who must serve in the military, say the authors of the initiative in a press release. These include rehabilitating forests after storms or working with young people at risk of addiction as part of civilian service, and joining army rescue troops.

The committee wants to launch a nationwide debate on the value and future of the commitment to a militia in Switzerland. Citizens' service is an important issue for the future of society and for the country's social cohesion.

The initiative would also make it possible to guarantee staff numbers. The campaigners believe that the text puts forward a "constructive proposal for reform in order to face up together to the security, social and environmental challenges we are facing, such as pandemics, wars, climate change and the polarisation of society".

Launched by the Geneva association Service citoyen, the initiative is supported by several centrist parties and associations. ...

South Pole, the world’s leading seller of carbon offsets, has been forced to suspend a flagship forest protection project in Zimbabwe amid allegations of exaggerated claims. Around one-fifth of the Swiss firm’s staff could also lose their jobs, according to media reports.

Carbon offsets allow firms and individuals to compensate for the carbon emissions they create – through, for example, an airplane flight or a building project – by paying to pull carbon out of the air elsewhere. Voluntary offsets have developed into a billion-dollar global market.

Last week the Washington, D.C.-based certification body Verra, the world’s leading carbon standard setter for the offsets market, announced it had launched an investigation into the Kariba REDD+ forest conservation project in northern Zimbabwe, one of South Pole's largest climate protection projects. REDD stands for “Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries”.

This follows a critical report published on October 16 by the NewYorker magazine, entitled “The Great Cash-for-Carbon Hustle”, which claimed South Pole sold millions of credits for carbon reductions that weren’t real. ...

The Basel-Mulhouse airport (also known as EuroAirport) was evacuated again on Thursday due to a bomb threat. This is the fourth such alert in seven days. Air traffic has been disrupted, the airport said on X (formerly Twitter).

The EuroAirport, located near Basel on French territory, had already been evacuated last Thursday, Friday and Tuesday due to bomb threats, all of which turned out to be false. Several French airports have been the target of bomb threats for over a week.

According to French Transport Minister Clément Beaune, the bomb threats against airports in France originated from an e-mail address in Switzerland. France has raised its bomb alert level to its highest since the murder on October 13 of a teacher at a secondary school in Arras by a young man claiming to be a member of the Islamic State terrorist organisation.

Are there differences between ISPs (Swisscom, UPC, ...) and their routers/modems when it comes to port-forwarding, IP management and so on?

Does anyone have previous experiences and suggestions, for which ISP I should go?

The Canton of Zurich has pledged CHF500,000 ($555,917) for the survivors of the terrorist attacks in Israel and the reconstruction of the affected villages. The money from the charitable fund goes to the Eshkol region.

Half a million Swiss francs will go to the Israeli foundation Ha'Amuta Lekidum Toshevei Hevel Eshkol. With its contribution, the Canton of Zurich wants to show its solidarity with the victims of the terrorist attack, the cantonal government council announced on Thursday.

The Eshkol region, which has a long border with the Gaza Strip, was hit particularly hard. Hundreds of residents were murdered, injured or kidnapped. The infrastructure of the affected villages in this region, which is important for Israeli agriculture, has been practically destroyed. ...

An audit committee concluded that the fight against abuse of short-time work during the Covid-19 pandemic was incomplete and called for stronger supervisory bodies.

Short-time work compensation amounting to billions was paid out by the government to companies whose business was particularly affected during the pandemic. In its report published on Thursday, the House of Representative's Business Audit Committee described short-time work as an "expedient instrument during the coronavirus crisis". However, it warned that supervision must be strengthened.

In the view of the committee, it is crucial to ensure that the ongoing checks on short-time work compensation paid out are carried out within the applicable deadlines. This is the only way to ensure that unlawfully received money can be reclaimed from the companies at fault. ...

In 2022, 486 Swiss residents were admitted to hospital for one or more gender affirmation operations. The number of medical procedures of this type has been rising steadily since 2018.

In 68% of cases, the aim of the operations carried out was gender reassignment from female to male, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said in a press release on Thursday. In 32% of cases, the opposite was the case.

The number of interventions remained very low until 2018. It then rose steadily, from 248 in 2019 to 525 in 2022 (an increase of 115%). The increase in male-to-female operations has been more pronounced (123%) than in female-to-male operations (102%).

On March 3, citizens will have to vote on whether they want to increase the pension pot and raise the retirement age.

Two pension-related issues will be put to the vote: the trade unions' initiative for a 13th old-age pension payment every year and an initiative by the youth branch of the Radical-Liberal party which calls for the retirement age to be raised to 66.

Launched by the Swiss Association of Trade Unions and women's and pensioners' organisations, the first text calls for the payment of an additional month of old-age pension every year.

This corresponds to a monthly pension increase of 8.33%. The government and parliament rejected the initiative. They have not come up with a counter-proposal. ...

A poor potato harvest has prompted many growers to consider quitting potato cultivation.

Daniel Peter has been growing potatoes in Rickenbach in canton Zurich for 20 years. It is normal that the harvest varies year on year. But it has not been as bad as this year for a long time.

"I have a 50% failure in the French fries and crisps varieties," says the vice-president of the Association of Swiss Potato Producers. These varieties in particular have not survived the extreme weather changes from high heat to high rainfall this summer.

Peter was not the only one to have this problem. There are many potato farmers in Switzerland who are thinking of quitting, he says - because this is already the third bad potato harvest in a row. The year 2021 was too wet and 2022 too dry. Many producers must postpone planned investments because they are currently having trouble paying their bills.

Because there is a shortage of about 100,000 tonnes of potatoes throughout Switzerland, the Zweifel crisps factory in Spreitenbach is procuring more potatoes from abroad than in other years. According to the Aargauer-Zeitung paper, Zweifel has to import 15% to 18% of its potato requirements across the border.

The Federal Department of Finance (FDF) has said it plans to draft a bill to regulate greenwashing. A draft for consultation should be available by August 2024 at the latest.

However, the door remains open for the industry, said the finance department. If the financial industry puts forward a form of self-regulation that effectively implements the government’s position, the finance department will refrain from further regulation, it said.

In December 2022, the federal government announced its intention to take action against greenwashing in the financial market. It instructed the finance department to work with other federal agencies and interest groups in a working group to examine how this could be implemented.

The Asset Management Association, the Swiss Bankers Association and the Swiss Insurance Association welcomed the government’s decision. They reject greenwashing in any form, the associations wrote in a joint statement.

The associations have already implemented some self-regulation against greenwashing. “Regardless of any regulatory developments, self-regulations will continue to move forward in the coming years.” ...