Switzerland

Reptile populations in Switzerland are steadily declining. The situation is particularly critical for the ring-necked snake and the Aesculapian snake. Amphibians are faring slightly better, with protection measures having partially halted their decline.

On Thursday, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) published updated red lists for the two classes of animal, reptiles and amphibians.

The results show that more than 80% of the sixteen reptile species native to Switzerland are on the Red List, in accordance with the criteria defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Compared with neighbouring countries, Switzerland has a particularly high proportion of threatened reptiles. ...

The president of the Swiss Employers' Association is fundamentally in favour of expanding state daycare funding. But: "Those who claim daycare centre support must also work more," said Severin Moser.

"A couple who only work a total of 120% should not be allowed to send their child to daycare five days a week at the state's expense," said Moser in an interview with Swiss newspaper group, Tamedia, published on Friday. The aim of state daycare funding should be to keep parents in the labour market. ...

The Swiss government wants to curb shopping tourism. In future, anyone living in Switzerland and shopping across the border will only be able to import goods worth CHF150 ($170) duty-free instead of CHF300.

The finance ministry, which has opened a consultation on this, is proposing to reduce the so-called value-free limit for travel to CHF150 per person from January 1, 2025. An even lower amount would disproportionately increase the cost of customs clearance and checks at border crossings, the finance ministry wrote on Thursday. More smuggling would also have to be expected.

An ordinance must be amended to lower the tax-free limit. Due to the scope of such an adjustment, a consultation will be carried out, the finance ministry wrote. It is also planning control measures to ensure that the majority of customs clearances are processed digitally in future. ...

The reference interest rate for residential rents has risen for the second time this year. The Federal Housing Office (BWO) is increasing the mortgage reference interest rate from 1.50% to 1.75%, according to a statement on Friday. Many rents are likely to rise again.

In determining the reference rate, the BWO relies on the quarterly average interest rate for domestic mortgage loans from Swiss banks. According to the BWO, this has risen from 1.59% in the previous quarter to 1.69%. This means that it is now back above the threshold for the next interest rate hike.

The main reason for the rise in rents is the mechanism of the mortgage reference interest rate. Because mortgage rates have fallen from their historic lows in the course of the interest rate turnaround, the reference interest rate has now also risen. And because this is rounded up or down to the nearest quarter of a per cent in the calculation, it has now risen to 1.75%. ...

BirdLife Switzerland has named the little grebe as Bird of the Year 2024. According to the organisation, the smallest local water bird and “little ball of feathers of our waters and wetlands” is a symbol of good water.

The little grebe can be found in Switzerland all year round, BirdLife said on Thursday. The bird with the conspicuous trill favours waters with plenty of shore vegetation and a good herb layer under water with a muddy substrate. However, it must not be too deep, but clear so that it can spot its prey. The little grebe feeds mainly on insects and their larvae; in winter it switches to small fish such as bullheads or perch. ...

The Swiss government says it is opposed to separate constituencies for Swiss Abroad in parliamentary elections.

While it is important for Swiss citizens living abroad to be represented in parliament, this can be done by the current system of parliamentarians elected via the 26 cantons, the government said on Thursday.

In a statement in response to a motion by House of Representatives member Jean-Luc Addor (Swiss People’s Party), the government referred to the “Parliamentary Group of Swiss Abroad”. At the end of July 2023, 78 parliamentarians belonged to this group. The government asked parliament to reject Addor’s motion. ...

In most areas of Switzerland, precipitation fell almost daily between November 1 and 25. The month closed out one of the warmest autumns since records began.

In western Switzerland and in the central and eastern midlands, twice as much rain fell as usual in November, national weather service MeteoSwiss said on Wednesday.

By the end of the month, rainfall on the northern side of the Alps had reached over 200% of the 1991-2020 monthly average in some places, and locally even more than 300%.

Certain areas around northern Schaffhausen even recorded the wettest November since measurements began. ...

Zurich, tied with Singapore, is the world’s most expensive city, according to a ranking by British magazine The Economist. Geneva is joint third.

Switzerland’s biggest city Zurich has thus moved up five places since the last ranking, according to data published on Thursday by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the analytical research unit of the Economist Group.

The city’s top position is partly due to the strong Swiss franc. However, high prices for food and leisure activities also played a role. ...

Switzerland’s dream of hosting the 2030 Winter Olympics looks certain to be over, leaving the Alpine nation with the consolation of a shot at the 2038 Games.

On Friday there was great confidence in the Swiss camp: Swiss Olympic unanimously voted in favor of pursuing the Olympic plans for 2030.

The chances for a decentralised, nationwide and sustainable Games in accordance with the new concept of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were assessed as realistic.

But the next step, entering into the so-called “targeted dialogue” with the IOC, has now become an insurmountable hurdle. ...

Switzerland will send 20 more soldiers to KFOR (Kosovo Force) in Kosovo from April 2024.

The Federal Council took this decision on Wednesday to replace the transport unit that Austria will withdraw from the mission next spring.

Last June, Parliament approved Switzerland's participation in KFOR as well as its extension until December 31, 2026. It also gave the Federal Council the power to increase, during the mandate and until the end of the commitment, the strength of a maximum of 30 soldiers to meet possible additional needs. ...

In 2024, Switzerland will offer the same number of work permits to employees from outside the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

The Federal Council has decided to leave the third-country quotas unchanged.

The Federal Council had consulted with social partners and cantons before taking the decision on Wednesday. In 2024, up to 8,500 qualified specialists can again be recruited outside the EU and EFTA: 4,500 with residence permit B and 4,000 with short-term residence permit L. ...

The government wants to eradicate new infections with the AIDS virus (HIV) and hepatitis B or C in Switzerland by 2030.

To this end, the Federal Council has adopted the program “Stop HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C virus and sexually transmitted infections (NAPS)”.

This goal is in line with that of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Federal Council wrote on Wednesday. Hepatitis B and C are new additions to the prevention program. The first national program against HIV was launched in 1987. ...

The Swiss state will continue to guarantee Covid-19 vaccines until the middle of 2024.

The Federal Council decided on Wednesday to extend this planned provision until the end of this year, in order to maintain easier access to vaccination.

This still offers good protection against serious forms of the disease, hospitalisations and deaths, the government indicates in a press release. This is a central element in preventing vulnerable people from developing complications.

The costs are covered by compulsory healthcare insurance, the Confederation and the cantons. From mid-2024, the centralised state acquisition and distribution system will give way to ordinary private market structures. This will be able to meet demand, according to the Federal Council. ...

Pope Francis has appointed Jean-Michel Girard as the new head of the Abbey of Saint-Maurice in southern Switzerland. The prestigious Catholic institution has been embroiled in sexual abuse allegations involving priests.

Jean-Michel Girard, who was a senior cleric (provost) for Grand St Bernard, takes over from Abbot Jean Scarcella and the interim head Roland Jacquenoud.

Scarcella resigned in September, suspected of sexual abuse and its cover-up. He is being investigated as part of a Catholic Church abuse affair by the apostolic special investigator Joseph Bonnemain. Saint-Maurice is not under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Sion but reports directly to the Vatican. ...

All flights using PC-21 aircraft have been suspended in Switzerland following an accident on Tuesday afternoon at a military air base in central Switzerland involving a training plane.

The accident occurred at the Emmen military airfield on Tuesday afternoon at the end of an exercise. Two trainer planes were due to land when one deviated and left the runway.

The pilot and student on board were able to eject and land safely using parachutes. The plane came to rest, damaged, in the meadow next to the runway. One of the pilots was taken to hospital. ...

Switzerland has joined an international taskforce, which brings together twelve countries includes the United States, Britain and Israel, aimed at countering the flow of money to the militant Palestinian group and supporting anti-terrorism efforts.

The Counter Terrorist Financing Taskforce - Israel (CTFTI) was set up after Hamas’s attack against Israel on October 7.

A statement published by the US Treasury Department on Monday showed that Switzerland is a member of the taskforce, together with Israel, the United States, Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. ...

Almost 300 nurses in Switzerland leave their jobs every month, mainly because of difficult working conditions. This phenomenon also affects young graduates, and poses a major challenge for Swiss hospitals.

High workloads, low pay, difficulty reconciling private and professional life: nurses' working conditions are increasingly leading them to leave their jobs. According to the latest report from the Observatoire de la santé, 36% of young nurses aged between 20 and 24 leave the profession during their first few years on the job.

"We never adapt the workload, we never add someone when the service is too heavy, when someone is missing we don't replace them," a nurse who has been in post for less than a year in a large hospital in French-speaking Switzerland told 19h30 anonymously. ...

The human rights organisation Amnesty International has criticised Switzerland's dealings with Palestinian NGOs. Stopping cooperation with three such organisations would foster mistrust towards Palestinian civil society.

The Federal Council did not adequately justify its decision to cancel the contracts, Amnesty International announced on Tuesday. It had not explained which statements by the organisations concerned were considered hate speech under international law. However, this transparency would have been necessary.

According to the communiqué, the decision contradicts the priorities of Swiss foreign policy. This places the protection of those who defend human rights at the centre. ...

There is enough good arable land available in Switzerland.

With 445,680 hectares, the minimum target is exceeded by almost two percent, as a national overview published for the first time shows. Nevertheless, the crop rotation areas (FFF) are under pressure.

These are the soils with the highest agricultural yield potential. They are intended to ensure self-sufficiency in severe shortages and are central to food security in Switzerland.

Switzerland must secure at least 438,460 hectares of crop rotation areas in accordance with the FFF sectoral plan. According to the first federal statistics, Switzerland meets the specified minimum area by 7,220 hectares, as the Federal Office for Spatial Development announced to the media in Bern on Tuesday. Accordingly, around 11% of the country's area is now protected as FFF. ...

Climate and energy will be the main topics of the trip that Swiss President Alain Berset will undertake to Oman and the United Arab Emirates, where he will participate in COP28.

To mark 50 years of diplomatic relations, Berset will be in Oman on 30 November, where he will be received by Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said.

Switzerland's first presidential visit to the country will focus on cooperation in the field of renewable energy, tourism and peace promotion.

Afterwards, the Swiss leader will attend the opening of the 28th UN Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Switzerland will also be represented by Environment Minister Albert Rösti. He will be in Dubai on December 8. Here he will participate in the negotiations at ministerial level and in the adoption of the conference decisions. In particular, he will sign a bilateral agreement with other partner states for emission reduction projects. ...

UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher has called for the Swiss financial industry regulator FINMA to be given more powers after the downfall of Credit Suisse showed the authority lacked sufficient “teeth”.

“People should be looking at giving the regulators more teeth,” Kelleher said at the FT’s Global Banking Summit in London on Tuesday. “It is obvious that in the case of Switzerland, FINMA did not have sufficient teeth at the time.”

“We have to try and help them find that,” he added.

UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti previously said he sees merit in making targeted adjustments to the regulatory framework and thinks Switzerland should consider a more explicit set of senior management responsibilities similar to those in the UK. ...

The trend towards littering continues to decline in Switzerland, according to a survey. This positive development can be attributed in particular to cities, municipalities and schools.

In 2015, 25% of those questioned thought that littering was “rather high” or “high” in Switzerland. By 2023, the figure had fallen to 16%, according to a survey of 3,568 people published on Tuesday by the Swiss Anti-litter Competence Centre (IGSU). ...

Switzerland’s cantons can kill a total of 12 wolf packs. The Federal Office for the Environment has approved corresponding applications from five cantons. Only one application from Ticino to remove the entire pack in the Onsernone Valley was rejected.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, the federal office explained that there had not been any wolf kills in protected situations in the Onsernone Valley in the past 12 months. However, Ticino could shoot two-thirds of the pack’s young wolves. ...

“Monsterbank” is the word of the year in German-speaking Switzerland, followed by “Chatbot” and “Ghosting”, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) announced on Tuesday.

Monsterbank came top because the relief following the merger of UBS and Credit Suisse was immediately followed by fears that the newly created giant bank could harbour even more risks.

The university justifies second place for Chatbot by pointing out that voice robots, which work with artificial intelligence and natural language processing, have caused a furore this year. They have become part of our everyday lives.

Finally, third-placed Ghosting appears to be spreading from interpersonal relationships to other areas of life, according to the ZHAW. For example, the term is now also used when job applicants no longer get in touch. ...

The shortage of qualified personnel persists in Switzerland. In a tight employment market jobs in the healthcare, IT and engineering sectors remain hard to fill, according to Zurich-based human resources provider Adecco.

After jumping by 69% in 2022, the labour shortage index for Switzerland has risen by a further 24% this year, according to data from Adecco Switzerland and the University of Zurich’s Swiss Labour Market Monitor, published on Tuesday. ...