Switzerland

Switzerland must do more to defend Gruyère cheese and other products that have a protected status in Switzerland, according to the Swiss House of Representatives.

The recent decision by a US court to allow the continued production and marketing of Gruyère cheese in the United States is a slap in the face for all those involved in the AOP (Protected Designation of Origin) Gruyère sector, said Jacques Nicolet, a member of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), in parliament.

In March, a US court of appeals confirmed that the term gruyère is a common label for cheese and can’t be reserved for a type from a specific region, namely in Switzerland or France, on the US market.

This decision followed a legal battle that has been going on for several years between the consortium of Swiss and French cheesemakers from the region around the town of Gruyères in western Switzerland and an American organization active in the production and marketing of dairy products.

On Thursday, a majority (115 to 58) in the Swiss House of Representatives supported a motion from the SVP to push back on the ruling on Gruyère cheese. According to the motion, the Federal Council should demand that the recognition of Swiss AOP (protected designation of origin) be applied and respected in all future trade agreements.

Switzerland does not have a preferential trade agreement with the United States, nor is it in the process of negotiating one. Whether an AOP is considered worthy of protection or a generic label in the US is a matter for the US courts based on the principle of territoriality.

Switzerland is already striving to protect its AOP label in trade agreement negotiations. But the outcome of negotiations always depends on the ambitions of all parties, according to economics minister Guy Parmelin.

The motion now be taken up in the Swiss Senate.

The Swiss media group Tamedia, which publishes the Tages-Anzeiger and Tribune de Genève newspapers, has announced around 50 job cuts in German- and French-speaking Switzerland.

Up to 20 jobs are to be cut on its German-language papers as part of a savings programme, it said on Thursday. This follow 28 layoffs in French-speaking Switzerland, which were announced the previous day.

Tamedia informed staff about the plans on Thursday morning, which were confirmed to the Keystone-SDA news agency.

The job cuts in German-speaking Switzerland are part of an overall savings plan of CHF6 million. In all, CHF3.5 million should be saved in French-speaking Switzerland, while the remaining CHF2.5 million are to come from titles in German-speaking Switzerland.

The latest austerity measures at Tamedia follow recent wide-ranging savings measures. In the past three years, for example, Tamedia editorial teams had to save CHF70 million.

The centre-right Radical Liberal Party and the right-wing Swiss People’s Party began their campaigns for the October 22 federal elections with the largest budgets.

The Radical-Liberals has CHF12.4 million ($13.6 million) to support its candidates this year, while the People’s Party has CHF11.1 million.

The biggest individual donor is Christoph Blocher. The former Swiss cabinet minister donated CHF550,000 to the People’s Party, according to the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) database, which was created to improve the transparency of the financing of political campaigns in Switzerland.

The Swiss Union of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (USAM), the Employers' Union, the Swiss Peasants' Union and the Swiss business federation economiesuisse each contributed CHF500,000 to the "Swiss Perspective" campaign for centre-right political candidates this year. The Foundation for Bourgeois Politics (Stiftung für bürgerliche Politik), which is close to the People’s Party, and Carmita Burkard (for the Green Party) donated similar sums.

Meanwhile, the left-wing Social Democratic Party has received CHF6.9 million for its election campaign, followed by the Centre Party (CHF 6.6 million), the Green Party (CHF3.7 million), the Liberal Green Party (CHF2.9 million) and the Protestant Party (CHF1.2 million).

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) held its policy interest rate unchanged at 1.75% on Thursday, against analyst expectations for a quarter point increase.

However, future increases cannot be ruled out if necessary, the SNB said.

In Switzerland, five consecutive interest rate hikes totalling 250 basis points have helped drive inflation down from last year's peak of 3.5% and keep it within the central bank's 0%-2% target for the past three months.

In recent months, inflation has continued to slow in Switzerland. In August, it stood at 1.6%. The decline is mainly due to a decline in the price of imported goods and services.

The SNB says it remains ready to be active on the foreign exchange market to ensure appropriate monetary conditions. In the current context, this mainly concerns the sale of currencies.

UBS and a French shipping tycoon are set to face a civil claim of around $1.5 billion (CHF1.3 billion) stemming from Credit Suisse’s role in a fundraising scandal in Mozambique, the UK’s top judges said, the first time a court has put a figure on the size of the suit.

The bank and a shipbuilder owned by billionaire Iskandar Safa are gearing up to defend themselves in a civil trial due to start early next month in London over the government-guaranteed loans in the so-called “tuna bond” case. The scandal saw hundreds of millions looted from Mozambique and tipped the southern African nation into economic crisis.

The Mozambican government’s claim is now worth around $1.5 billion, including more than $1 billion in lost international grants, the UK Supreme Court said in a ruling on Wednesday. The court declared that shipbuilder Privinvest couldn’t rely on arbitration agreements to postpone the London suit.

The impending trial is set to consider allegations that the Swiss bank, which was bought by rival UBS in June, ignored red flags and turned a blind eye to the corruption of its own bankers in deals struck a decade ago that were intended to fund a new coastal patrol force and tuna fishing fleet. The case triggered criminal investigations across the world with Credit Suisse agreeing in 2021 to pay almost $475 million to authorities.

“The judgment of the Supreme Court validates the Republic’s decision to bring proceedings against Privinvest and Mr. Safa in a public forum,” said Keith Oliver, a lawyer for Mozambique. Spokespeople for UBS and Privinvest couldn’t immediately comment.

Credit Suisse had unsuccessfully sought to block the trial after saying that Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi and his security service failed to disclose documents that were crucial for a fair trial. Earlier this month, Nyusi received immunity from any allegations he was involved in the conspiracy at the heart of multibillion dollar fishing-boat scandal, in a setback for the bank.

The Swiss parliament does not want to introduce tolls for busy motorway tunnels such as the Gotthard Road Tunnel.

On Wednesday it rejected a motion that called for a toll, but it demanded that Swiss motorists be compensated for the costs.

The motion had called for a charge for vehicles with a total weight of up to 3.5 tonnes in heavily used motorway tunnels and focused in particular on tourists on the north-south axis. It is now off the table.

According to the motion’s sponsor, Marco Chiesa from canton Ticino, the required regulations should not have placed an additional burden on the Swiss population. The situation at the Gotthard had become intolerable, especially during the holiday season, Chiesa said. Car journeys to the south and north had become a test of endurance for Ticino and canton Uri.

What’s more, tourists do not leave a cent behind on the road, and the motorway sticker is dirt cheap, he said, pointing out that neighbouring countries are also raising tunnel tolls in addition to the motorway toll.

The government also proposed the motion be rejected. It did not want to anticipate a report on the subject that the House of Representatives had ordered. This paper deals with the alternative traffic that rolls through the villages when cars are jammed on the motorway. The report will be available in the first half of 2024, said Transport Minister Albert Rösti.

At the end of June, more than nine million people lived in Switzerland for the first time in history - there were exactly 9,006,664. This includes not only permanent residents but also the non-permanent foreign resident population, such as asylum seekers.

The permanent resident population of locals and foreigners at the end of the first half of 2023 numbered 8,902,308 people, as the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) reported on Wednesday. Some 2,369,382 people had a foreign passport.

The permanent resident population includes the Swiss population and all people with a valid residence permit who have been in Switzerland for at least 12 months. This means that those in need of protection from Ukraine with their S status also belong to this population. At the end of June, the FSO counted 45,405 people with this status.

According to previous FSO information, 47,200 foreign people had immigrated to Switzerland by June 30, most of them from EU/EFTA states. According to the federal government, the reasons are the strong demand on the labour market and the structurally low unemployment.

At the end of the first half of the year, the non-permanent resident population included 104,356 people, as the FSO also announced. This part of the population includes people in the asylum process with a stay of less than 12 months as well as foreigners with a short-term residence permit for less than 12 months.

It will be illegal to conceal one’s face in public in Switzerland. Parliament has accepted the government’s bill implementing the so-called anti-burka initiative at federal level, including a fine of up to CHF1,000 ($1,115) for those who flout the ban.

After the Senate, the House of Representatives approved it on Wednesday by 151 votes to 29, with six abstentions.

The controversial “anti-burka” initiative was approved by 51.2% of voters in March 2021. It was opposed by most parties except the right-wing Swiss People’s Party.

The government’s proposal prohibits the concealment of the face in public, on pain of a fine. Eyes, nose and mouth must be visible in all public or private spaces accessible to the public. Exceptions are made for aircraft and consular or religious premises.

Exceptions for demonstrations

There are also exceptions for demonstrations, under certain conditions and if the authorities allow it. Freedom of opinion and freedom of demonstration are at stake here, said the majority in parliament.

The People’s Party tried in vain to argue for a total ban. People’s Party parliamentarian Walter Wobmann said the initiative was not just aimed at the burka but also at masked political demonstrators who smash up buildings or hooligans.

“Some people might feel safer masking themselves, for example during a demonstration about battered women or sexual abuse,” said Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, calling for the need for a certain proportionality.

The left had attempted to reverse the CHF1,000 fine, proposing a maximum of CHF200.

Baume-Schneider pointed out that CHF1,000 was the maximum penalty. But there was also the possibility of a fine of CHF200 for minor offences. She was broadly supported.

The risk of real estate bubbles has clearly diminished worldwide, but the cities of Zurich and Tokyo remain in the risk zone.

After real estate prices have skyrocketed in many major cities in recent years and the risk of real estate bubbles increased, the situation has recently eased significantly again, as the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2023 published on Wednesday shows. While nine of the 25 cities examined were in the risk area last year, this year there are only two, namely Zurich and Tokyo.

With a bubble risk value of 1.71, Zurich is at the top of the ranking and just ahead of Tokyo (1.65 points), with the bubble risk starting at 1.5 points. The cities of Toronto, Frankfurt, Munich, Hong Kong, Vancouver, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv have waved goodbye to the risk area within a year.

The study’s authors attribute the decline in risks primarily to the fall in real estate prices. On average, adjusted for inflation, these have fallen by 5% in the cities examined since mid-2022. "Many cities have lost price gains achieved during the pandemic. On average, real prices are now almost back to mid-2020 levels," says Claudio Saputelli, head of real estate in the Chief Investment Office of UBS Global Wealth Management.

In addition to the high inflation in many countries, the significantly increased interest rates are responsible for the fall in prices. Real estate prices are likely to continue to fall in the longer term and thus the risk will also decrease again, the report states.

Zurich are one of a few cities where Real property prices have continued to rise in 2023, albeit more slowly than in previous years. Buyers currently pay 40% more for real estate than they did ten years ago. In return, rents only rose by around 12% over the same period. Because of this high imbalance between purchase prices and rents, there is still a risk of a bubble, it is said.

However, the discrepancy has narrowed somewhat recently, as rents have risen faster than property prices in recent quarters. Since there are slightly more properties on the market due to the increased interest rates, analysts do not expect any further price increases in Zurich for the time being. According to UBS experts, the bubble risk will gradually continue to decline over the next few years.

Switzerland supports the idea of ​​a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis announced on Tuesday in New York. He participated in an exchange on the International Criminal Court (ICC), on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the "illegal deportation" of thousands of Ukrainian children since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but it has no jurisdiction to investigate the crime of aggression in Ukraine. This is why the idea is circulating among diplomats of setting up a special UN tribunal.

Cassis specified that such a special court should be established within the multilateral framework and with balanced international support.

Swiss President Alain Berset had earlier criticised Russia in his speech to the UN General Assembly. “By launching a war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian Federation has not only attacked a peaceful country, but also international law and multilateralism,” he said.

The head of the Federal Department of the Interior regretted that this aggression was the work of a permanent member of the UN Security Council, an organ which is, according to the United Nations charter, "responsible for the maintenance of world peace and international security”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to address the UN Security Council on Wednesday for the first time since the start of the war. The meeting is taking place at the highest level and many leaders are expected to speak.

Russia will be represented by its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who arrived in New York on Tuesday evening. It is not clear whether he will attend President Zelensky’s speech in person or be represented during his speech, as was already the case during a meeting of the council at the level of heads of diplomacy.

As a member of the Security Council until the end of 2024, Switzerland, represented by Berset and Cassis, will also be present.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) will likely conclude its unprecedented tightening campaign with a quarter-point hike on Thursday, a move that risks putting an end to the franc’s peer-beating rally.

All but four of 31 economists in a Bloomberg survey expect the key rate to be lifted to 2%, with the remainder forecasting a pause. In anticipation, investors have ramped up bets against the franc, almost doubling their short position against the dollar.

The franc has outperformed all its Group-of-10 peers this year on the back of the SNB’s tightening campaign, reaching an eight-year high against the euro in July. Now, analysts say further tightening won’t be necessary given growth is faltering and inflation — unlike in other jurisdictions — has already returned to target.

“Investors have grown sceptical on the franc rallies, and so have we,” said Athanasios Vamvakidis, head of G-10 foreign exchange strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We are concerned the SNB is overtightening.”

With a quarter-point step, Swiss policymakers would mirror last week’s move of the European Central Bank, narrowing the spread between the two rates to 250 basis points. But given how much slower inflation is in Switzerland, the central bank’s stance has had an outsized impact.

Investors increased their short position on the franc versus the dollar in futures and options markets by almost 80% in the week ended on September 12, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Exchange rates

The franc traded at 0.96 per euro on Tuesday, having strengthened from a parity in January. It’s up more than 3% since the start of the year.

Not all economists are convinced an increase in borrowing costs is really necessary.

“The SNB doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone,” said Karsten Junius, chief economist at Bank J Safra Sarasin Ltd, who is predicting a “hawkish pause.”

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) plans to gradually resume activities in Niger after staff left the country in a hurry following the coup d'état in July.

Almost two months after the overthrow of Niger's elected president and the seizure of power by the military, the SDC has decided to reopen its office in Niamey. Four Swiss experts returned to the Nigerien capital on Monday.

“We have carried out a security analysis, and even if the situation remains fragile, we can work on site,” the head of communications at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) told Swiss public television, RTS. “If the situation deteriorates, our expatriate staff will be able to leave the country [again],” added Nicolas Bideau.

Since August 11, the SDC experts repatriated to Bern have been managing various projects in Niger remotely. The SDC has been providing humanitarian aid and development programs in this Sahel country for decades. In 2023, the budget for this support will amount to CHF30 million ($33 million).

As the SDC office in Niamey resumes its activities in the field, a key priority is to adapt some of its programmes to the new situation.

Bern has decided to suspend all direct payments to the central government and state agencies, representing a total of almost CHF3 million. The Confederation does not want this money to end up in the pockets of the military.

Three projects are partially affected. They concern the development of small-scale irrigation, access to drinking water and local entrepreneurship.

However, the FDFA promises that these sums will still benefit the people in Niger. They will be reallocated to projects in the fields of education and human security.

The topic of cyber security is still underestimated by many small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to a study. In particular, there has been little progress in implementing measures to protect against hacking attacks.

This is the conclusion of a survey conducted by the market and social research institute gfs. The main finding: Swiss SMEs still see cyber security as a low priority and that long-term protective measures are implemented only hesitantly. “There is therefore hardly any progress in the fight against cybercrime,” said Simon Seebeck, head of the Cyber Risk Competence Center at the insurance company Mobiliar, at a media conference on Tuesday.

A total of 502 business leaders of SMEs were surveyed on the impact of digitalisation and cybersecurity. The survey was commissioned by digitalswitzerland, the insurance company Mobiliar, the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences and the Alliance Digital Security Switzerland.

Some companies describe themselves as “digital pioneers” and are further ahead than the average in the technical and organisational implementation of security measures in the IT sector. However, such companies are becoming increasingly rare.

Specifically, about one-fifth of the SMEs surveyed had considered themselves “pioneers” in each of the previous years. In this year's survey, it was only about one tenth.

“In general, it's not just about the technical implementation of security measures,” Seebeck noted. Especially since this is usually outsourced to external IT service providers. Above all, organisational measures - such as raising employee awareness or data backup - must be taken seriously and addressed accordingly.

Large companies targeted

When asked about actual incidents, however, only around 11% of SME CEOs said they had already fallen victim to cyber criminals. A good half of those attacked had suffered financial damage.

Overall, SMEs are probably also less frequently affected by cyberattacks than large companies. According to a survey published about two weeks ago by the consulting firm Deloitte, 45% of companies with more than 250 employees have been the victim of an attack at least once. Among the SMEs surveyed, the number of companies that experienced a “serious attack” was significantly lower at 18%.

Swiss pharmaceutical supplier Lonza will stop production of the Covid-19 vaccine for Moderna at its Visp site in the third quarter of 2023. Moderna will cover its demand for the vaccine from its own production facilities in the future, the US company announced on Tuesday.

US vaccine maker Moderna is focusing production of the mRNA agent at fewer sites as demand has declined with the transition from a pandemic to an endemic, the statement added. Lonza could not initially be reached for comment by the Swiss business news agency AWP.

Moderna will meet vaccine demand for 2024 and 2025 from its own sites in Norwood, Massachusetts, it said. More capacity will be added starting in 2025 when Moderna's new mRNA production facilities in the UK, Canada and Australia come online, according to the statement.

Consumer prices in Switzerland are likely to exceed the Swiss National Bank's target range this year, notes the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Persistent inflation is prompting the central bank to tighten its monetary policy further.

In its quarterly Global Economic Outlook report, the OECD indicated that it expects inflation to peak at 2.4% this year, above the 0%-2% range equated with price stability by the Swiss central bank.

By 2024, however, inflation should fall back to 1.2%, added the OECD, confirming earlier forecasts.

“Monetary policy will have to be tightened again to ensure that inflation returns to its target range,” warned the economists, as the SNB is due to announce its decision on the matter on Thursday. Most experts expect the key interest rate to be raised by a further 25 basis points to 2%, but a pause in the rate hike cannot be ruled out.

Swiss growth prospects were also confirmed, with gross domestic product (GDP) expected to rise by 0.6% in 2023 and 1.2% the following year.

“Tighter financial conditions, sluggish confidence and rising inflation will weigh on household consumption and private investment. Geopolitical tensions and high uncertainty will dampen trade,” the OECD noted.

The clearance of the former ammunition depot in Mitholz in the Bernese Oberland has passed the next hurdle. Following the House of Representatives, the Senate has also approved a CHF2.59 billion ($2.9 billion) credit for the implementation of the project.

By 39 votes to zero and three abstentions, the Senate said yes to the commitment credit on Tuesday. The House of Representatives had approved the project at the beginning of May by 180 votes to five with eight abstentions. The bill has thus been cleared.

In December 1947, major explosions occurred in the former army ammunition depot near Mitholz in the municipality of Kandergrund, canton Bern. The depot partially collapsed and several people died from boulders that were hurled through the air. Dozens of houses were destroyed and several hundred tonnes of explosives were left in the rubble.

In 2018 a report by the defence ministry concluded that the ammunition depot had to be cleared due to continued high risks. The project can now be implemented.

A Credit Suisse unit has been ordered to pay billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili $742.7 million (CHF665 million) by a Singapore court as it confirmed that the bank’s trust had failed to safeguard its client’s assets.

The amount was revised down from the $926 million assessed by the court in May. At the time, the court said the final award would be reduced to avoid double recovery after a Bermuda court last year awarded Ivanishvili more than $600 million in damages in that case.

The ruling, the first since the troubled bank was taken over by rival Swiss bank UBS in June, is the latest development in the Singapore chapter of the long-running saga that’s spanned three continents. The case revolves around a private banker, Patrice Lescaudron, who was convicted in 2018 for running a fraudulent scheme in which he took money from Ivanishvili’s accounts to try and mask growing losses in Russian clients’ portfolios.

Credit Suisse said in May that the judgement was “wrong and poses very significant legal issues”. On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the bank said “The Singapore Court’s judgment is not final and, as already communicated in May 2023, Credit Suisse Trust Limited will pursue an appeal.”

In order to achieve the United Nation’s sustainability goals by 2030, politics, science and the private sector must work together better, Swiss President Alain Berset said in his speech at the UN Summit on Sustainable Development in New York.

The states had committed themselves in 2015 to “work tirelessly” for the full implementation of the goals by 2030. “So let’s do the same,” Berset said on Monday.

Within a few years, he said, global warming had gone from a sometimes abstract concept to an overwhelming reality. “The consequences increase inequalities, affect the global balance, threaten stability, endanger food security and biodiversity, increase pollution and lead to conflicts,” he warned.

From Switzerland’s point of view, cooperation must be strengthened and forces pooled. “We need partnerships and a strong multilateral system,” he said.

The Swiss Federal Court on Friday rejected Erwin Sperisen’s request for release. The former head of the Guatemalan national police has been imprisoned in Switzerland for 11 years for taking part in the murders of detainees. He was hoping to be released soon.

This summer, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) criticised Switzerland for failing to provide Sperisen with the guarantee of an impartial court. The Swiss-Guatemalan dual national was convicted in 2018 of participating in the execution of six prisoners in 2006 and murdering a seventh prisoner as part of an operation to regain control of the Pavón prison.

The ECHR ruling came into force last week, without being appealed.

The international body acknowledged that, at the time of a previous request for his release in 2017, the observations of a judge of the Geneva Court of Appeal and Revision “went beyond the statement of a mere suspicion”. The judge refused the request on the grounds that “Erwin Sperisen’s conviction was probable”. The ECHR ruled “that the applicant could reasonably fear that the judge had a preconceived idea on the question of his guilt”.

On Thursday, Sperisen’s lawyer, Giorgio Campa, called for his client to be released. In his view, the recognition of a biased court should have led to the immediate release of his client. “My client has never had a fair trial,” he said.

On Friday, the Federal Court refused Sperisen’s request for release. It stated that he was not being held under its authority and added that the ECHR ruling had no direct effect on the substance of the Swiss-Guatemalan dual national’s conviction. The Geneva Public Prosecutor’s Office is of the same opinion, and has not received an application for his release.

‘Miscarriage of justice’

For Giorgio Campa, the Swiss judicial authorities “do not wish to assume the consequences of such a denial of justice”.

“This is an unprecedented miscarriage of justice,” he told Swiss public radio, RTS. “And the consequences for our judicial institutions are such that they are reluctant to do the right thing and re-establish a situation that complies with human rights.”

In the face of what he sees as “an injustice that defies comprehension”, Campa has taken his case to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the decision-making body of the human rights organisation, to force Switzerland to apply the ECHR ruling.

This new procedure extends a legal saga that has been ongoing since 2012, when Sperisen was arrested in Geneva.

The pandemic may be behind us, but the Swiss are not in the best of health: according to a study for the insurance company CSS Group, 34% of people in Switzerland say they feel unhealthy or even ill, whereas three years ago the figure was 22%.

In the over-65 category, the deterioration is the most marked: 46% compared to 30% in 2020.

The study conducted by Sotomo, according to a CSS press release on Monday, shows that sick days for adults over 65 years of age increased from 2.6 in the pre-pandemic period and during the pandemic to 4.5 in 2023, i.e., more than double. The elderly are the most resistant to mental illness, but 39% of them do not seek professional help when they need it.

The most frequently reported symptoms are fatigue and exhaustion (68% of cases): it cannot be excluded that the latter may be related to a legacy of Covid. Pain (48%), infectious diseases (41%) and stress (40%) follow on the list. Poor health affects the quality and quantity of sleep as well as physical activities and sociability.

Mental health is a major challenge for Switzerland in 2023: the number of people who considered themselves to be in good mental health was about three out of four two years ago, whereas in 2023 it is only two-thirds. Illnesses in this area are mainly suffered by young adults, although their moods are improving slightly. Nevertheless, only 38% of the population between 18 and 35 years of age turn to specialists in this field, and of those who do, about 50% do not find the support they were hoping for.

The combination of work and stress at home especially afflicts women between 41 and 50 years of age, who are the category with the lowest mood. Three out of four respondents believe that flexible work is psychologically beneficial and allows them to reconcile work and private life: this perception is especially widespread among women, who still do the larger share of care work. In general, in this age group, those who consider themselves to be in good mental health have fallen from 75% two years ago to 67% in 2023.

The survey conducted online by Sotomo was based on responses from 2,432 people collected between June 6 and 29 in the three main language regions. The margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points.

Parliament wants to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium-sized entreprises as well as the country's regions. It has approved the CHF646 million ($720 million) requested by the government for economic promotion between 2024 and 2027. On Monday, the Senate agreed with the House of Representatives on the final points.

The two largest envelopes were the subject of debate. Both the federal government and the House of Representatives wanted to earmark CHF233 million for the promotion agency Switzerland Tourism, while the Senate wanted an additional CHF13 million. In the end, the Senate decided against the increase on Monday.

With regard to the amount for the Regional Development Fund for 2024-2031, the government, supported by the House, had earmarked CHF217.3 million, but the Senate wanted CHF12.7 million more than that, before finally relenting.

The two chambers had already reached an agreement on the other four credit requests, concerning export promotion (CHF99 million), the promotion of Switzerland as a business location (CHF18.5 million), the development of e-government (CHF32.8 million) and the promotion of innovation (CHF45.4 million).

Wolves are multiplying exponentially in Switzerland, so much so that in recent times their population has increased by about 30% each year. Without intervention, it will continue to grow to a greater extent, says environment minister Albert Rösti.

Rösti was in parliament on Monday to respond to three questions from Christian Democrats – Piero Marchesi, Monika Rüegger and Michael Graber – who were concerned about the rapid increase in packs and wolves in Switzerland.

Rösti, citing the latest available data on the subject, replied that 32 wolf packs had been identified in the country. In canton Valais alone there are ten packs and a total of 70 predators.

But according to the environment minister, what is most worrying is the fact that in 2019 the number of wolves was less than 100; in 2020 it was just over 100; a year later it had reached almost 150; last year it was around 240; and today it is over 300.

That is why the federal govenrment launched a fast-track consultation, which has not yet been concluded. In parliament, Rösti recalled that the government, at the request of the cantons, can authorise the preventive culling of these animals, but only if the wolf packs pose a threat.

The government's objective, he added, is to protect the population and livestock and, at the same time, to preserve the wolf species. Rösti again emphasised that he had a lot of sympathy for the representatives of agriculture, who would like to see a rapid response after more than 1,500 fatal attacks on sheep, goats, cows, calves, horses, and other livestock.

But at the same time, said the minister, “my task is to ensure the preservation of the species [of wolves], based on the Bern Convention”.

More than 20 years after the outbreak of mad cow disease and the ban on meat-and-bone meal, certain animal proteins could once again be allowed, subject to strict conditions. On Monday, the Federal Department of Home Affairs sent out for consultation proposed amendments to the legislation.

The proposed amendments include the possibility of feeding processed-poultry proteins to pigs and vice versa. This would enable better use of high-quality slaughter by-products that are not used in human food: processed proteins are in fact well suited to feeding omnivorous livestock, the home affairs ministry said on Monday.

The legislative amendment had been requested in several parliamentary interventions. It is in line with the desire to promote sustainable agriculture and the agri-food industry, and maintains equivalence with European law.

On the basis of the latest scientific knowledge, the European Union has authorised the use of certain animal proteins in animal feed since September 2021. In Switzerland, the home affairs department intends to amend one ordinance and issue a new ordinance on animal by-products and on the use of animal by-products, as animal feed or fertiliser, respectively.

Insects too

According to these texts, which are out for consultation until December 15, feed for poultry and pigs could contain processed proteins from pigs and poultry, respectively, subject to well-defined conditions. The use of processed insect protein in pig and poultry feed would also be possible.

To guarantee the safety of animal foodstuffs and avoid any contamination, businesses in the food, processing, animal-feed manufacturing and storage sectors will be subject to strict hygiene rules, said the home affairs ministry.

In the early 2000s, meat-and-bone meal was banned after it was established that it was involved in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, which decimated livestock and reduced consumer confidence in certain cuts of meat and offal.

The people of Geneva once again rolled up their sleeves to collect rubbish in and around Lake Geneva this weekend. Some 950kg of rubbish was recovered, the organisers announced on Sunday evening.

For the 31st time, volunteers took part in this initiative by the aqua-diving association “Genève action lac propre”, supported by donations, the canton and local authorities. There were 150 participants, down on previous years. The lower attendance was reflected in the volume recovered, which in recent years has been well over a tonne.

Despite this, “the results of this collection are unfortunately still as impressive as ever”, say those in charge of the scheme. The haul included 485kg of cans, almost 250kg of glass bottles and almost the same volume of PET bottles. But in addition to these regulars, the search always turns up a few treasures. Treasures

This year, participants collected a washing machine drum, ten car tires, two computers and thousands of cigarette butts. They worked both by diving into the lake and by walking along the shore.

On Saturday evening a film about 30 years of cleaning up the lake was shown.

On Sunday the mayor of Geneva, Alfonso Gomez, and the head of the cantonal police, Monica Bonfanti, took part in the official ceremony. There were also entertainment stands to raise public awareness of the importance of this initiative.

The Swiss Army is no longer selling its old bunkers. In response to the war in Ukraine, the army is increasingly decentralising, says army chief Thomas Süssli.

The air force, for example, will train to operate improvised sites, Süssli said in an interview with Tamedia newspapers published on Monday.

Currently, the army is also going through the catalogue of command and combat facilities. This includes bunkers whose locations are already known, he said. “We have to take what we have,” Süssli said. Even already known installations would have a military use if there were many in a certain region. The army should not be put out of action with just a few bombing raids, he said.

The army already communicated in August that it is increasingly focusing on defence. In the wake of the war in Ukraine, it increased self-protection. “We always have to protect our shelters and camps first before we can protect others,” Süssli said. It also strengthened counterintelligence. Further measures would concern supplies and infrastructure. He did not want to give details. Asked in particular about ammunition stocks, Süssli remained coy.

Spare parts in stock

For about a year now, the ammunition division of the Ruag defence company has belonged to the Italian weapons and binoculars manufacturer Beretta. “It would be good if Switzerland had a certain autonomy in ammunition,” said Süssli.

The sale of the ammunition division was a political decision. In the event of a crisis, even a Swiss company would have problems producing ammunition, according to the army chief. “That is why we are stockpiling more,” he said. As an example, Süssli mentioned spare parts for the F-35 fighter jet.

According to Süssli, the Armed Forces also ensure cooperation with other armed forces. In an emergency, this would not work immediately. The Swiss contribution in Kosovo should not be underestimated for NATO members, he said.

No concrete decisions have been made yet on the extent to which Switzerland will take on additional tasks there, he added. “Switzerland could contribute in the areas of cyber or NBC, nuclear-biological-chemical defence,” Süssli said.

In the summer session, parliament extended Switzerland’s mission in Kosovo until 2026.