Switzerland Today
Hello from Bern, where journalists have been trying to figure out what the government’s plans for EU relations really involve, after yesterday’s announcement of a new negotiation mandate. Is it a new start, and if so, is it a promising one?
In the news: remittances, retail banks, and a state visit.
- A study of 3,000 people from various European countries living in Switzerland found that 21% sent remittancesExternal link back to their home country at least once a year. Portuguese did this most often (46%); people from the UK sent the most by amount, at CHF4,000 ($4,447) each. Germans (15%) and Italians (13%) were less likely to send money home.
- Swiss retail banks have increased investment in digital marketing by 16% in a bid to attract younger clients, a report by Columbus Consulting said todayExternal link. In 2023, budgeted sums in this segment will total CHF 47.6 million ($52.8 million), up 16% on last year. UBS, Postfinance, and Raiffeisen are the biggest spenders in the field, the report said.
- The Swiss president, Alain Berset, met Pope FrancisExternal link in the Vatican today. Their 20-minute conversation focussed on peace promotion, sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, and climate change. Berset had been scheduled to visit the Vatican in May, but had to postpone due to the coronation of Charles III in London.
Swiss-EU relations: a new chapter?
Yesterday, the Swiss government announced – following months of “exploratory talks” – that it was ready to start negotiating with the EU again, after previous efforts to reach an institutional agreement were dropped in 2021. By the end of this year, the government plans to sign off on a draft of a new negotiating mandate – which could mean talks with the EU starting as early as next year.
As for the issues at stake, many are the same as ever: the protection of Swiss salaries, the obligation (or not) for Switzerland to automatically take over EU law, the access of Swiss universities to EU-funded research programmes, the payment of the EU structural “cohesion funds”. There’s also new areas which Bern wants to discuss, such as cooperation on electricity supply, food safety, and health.
But is it a fresh start, or just a repackaging of old news? SRF’s Rafael von Matt writes today that the “fundamental problems remain the same” – domestic disagreement in Switzerland and a “lack of clear leadership by the government”. The right-wing People’s Party (the country’s biggest), and the trade unions are already reluctant about the plan, he says – while it’s also not clear what the government actually wants.
This vagueness leads to a vacuum which is easier filled by the opposition rather than by the voices pushing for a solution that could be accepted by a majority of Swiss, von Matt writes. And given that the people will vote on any future final deal, this is a necessity. Of course, he doesn’t suggest what such a clear position could be; but that’s not his job. The foreign ministry will come up with a first draft of a negotiating mandate before Christmas.
Swiss Abroad – locked out of second round of elections?
The 2023 federal elections might have happened two weeks ago, but they’re not over yet. For one of the two parliamentary chambers, the 46-seat Senate, a majoritarian voting system means a second round is often needed to nail down the winning candidate(s). So far, 33 of the 46 senators have been elected, and nine cantons are organising a follow-up round – four this Sunday, November 12, and five a week later.
However, local authorities can struggle to print and send the voting material so quickly. And in cantons Vaud and Fribourg, some citizens still hadn’t received their papers by Tuesday, public broadcaster RTS reportedExternal link earlier this week. And for some Swiss living abroad, such a fast turnaround of the postal voting system is virtually impossible, and authorities admit they may not be able to vote at all in the second round.
Are you a Swiss living abroad and unable to vote in the second-round in your home canton? Let us know by adding your view to our debate on e-voting and postal voting for this years elections.
Swiss pair joins UNESCO list.
Two Swiss cities have made it onto UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (CCN), it was announced today. Montreux, internationally renowned for its annual Jazz Festival (pictured), was unsurprisingly in the “music” category, while Fribourg, internationally renowned for being confused with the German city of Freiburg, is apparently a “gastronomy” gem. Both cities had to submit a four-year action plan to be accepted: Fribourg plans to boost research and innovation in the agri-food sector, while Montreux wants to “make musical creativity a vector for urban development and integration”. Some 350 cities around the world have joined the CCN since 2004.
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