Minister: ‘Swiss economy recovering but reforms needed’

A group of Asian tourists in Lucerne on December 31 Keystone

Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann says he has confidence in the Swiss economy, which he says is recovering from the so-called “Frankenshock”, when the Swiss National Bank abruptly pulled the plug on its franc-euro exchange rate peg on January 15, 2015. 

Almost three years on, Schneider-Amman told Blick newspaper on Monday that tourists were “streaming” back into Switzerland. The tourist industry suffered heavily following the unpegging, when one euro suddenly bought only CHF0.85 instead of CHF1.20. 

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“For many companies the past few years have been brutal. But whoever has come out of the shock stronger can now benefit from the economic recovery in all markets,” he said, explicitly mentioning reforms to corporate tax rates, which voters rejected in February 2017. 

At the same time, however, Schneider-Ammann believed Switzerland must use this momentum to introduce important reforms, less bureaucracy and new free-trade agreements. In addition, the public must adapt to digitalisation and related changes, he said.