Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

The latest forecast for 2021 shows a deficit of CHF 14.8 billion, down CHF 2.6 billion from an earlier forecast shortfall of CHF 17.4 billion. The deficit is driven mainly by the extraordinary cost of responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. © Ginasanders | Dreamstime.comThe federal government expects to spend CHF 4.1 billion on vaccines (1.2) and tests (2.5) in 2021. However, the largest share of extra spending is on full and partial unemployment benefits (6.9). Another CHF 4.8 billion has...

© Simona Pilolla | Dreamstime.com Recently published figures show the largest fall in male life expectancy in Switzerland since 1944 and the largest since 1962 for women. In 2020, a year marked by Covid-19, life expectancy at birth fell to 81.0 for men and 85.1 for women, a decline of 0.9 and 0.5 years respectively compared with 2019. Such a decline had not been observed since 1944 among men and 1962 among women, according to mortality tables calculated by...

On 27 October 2021, the Federal Council put forward a plan to change the rules around foreign students working in Switzerland upon completing study at a Swiss university. © Anuwat Sonhan | Dreamstime.comThe proposed rules would allow those graduating from Swiss universities with masters or doctorates in fields with a shortage of workers to work in Switzerland more easily. The changes would reduce the administrative requirements for obtaining a Swiss work permit. However, a maximum annual...

On 27 October 2021, the Swiss government adopted a report setting out how Swiss motorways and railway lines could be used to generate more than 100 GWh of electricity a year. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comCalculations in the report show that solar panels placed on noise reduction barriers running along the edges of motorways and railway lines in Switzerland as well as on motorway and rail buildings and platforms could generate 101 GWh of electricity a year. 101 GWh of electricity would be...

This week, a Council of States commission accepted a plan to regulate the cannabis trade in Switzerland, reported 20 Minutes. This decision by the public health commission follows an earlier one by a parliamentary commission looking at the same question. The way is now clear for parliament to create a new law that lifts the ban on the use of cannabis in Switzerland. The Council of States commission voted 9 to 2 in favour of changing the rules around the sale and use of cannabis. A key...

This week, Switzerland’s federal council released CHF 400 million to fund Swiss research projects once part of Horizon Europe, an EU research programme that is the world’s most heavily funded. Switzerland was cut out of the programme when it unilaterally ended talks with the EU aimed at agreeing a deal with the bloc. © Korn Vitthayanukarun | Dreamstime.comSince being cut out of Horizon Europe in July 2021, the Swiss government has earmarked CHF 6.15 billion to fund research over the next...

Switzerland is the highest rated country in the latest HSBC expat ranking published this week, a position held for the last three years. © minnystock | Dreamstime.com91% of the expats surveyed living in Switzerland said their living environment was better than it was before moving. The average on this measure across all expats questioned was 67%. After moving, 86% said they felt safer, another of Switzerland’s strong points among expats. In addition, nearly 9 out of 10 expats living...

© Sergey Chuyko | Dreamstime.com Over the weekend, several thousand people took to Swiss streets to protest against Switzerland’s measures to reduce the impact of Covid-19, reported RTS. In Lausanne, between 800 and 1,000 people marched in protest against Covid certificates and restrictions on individual liberty. No violence or property damage was reported. In Lugano, calls from an association named friends of the constitution drew around 400 protestors to the...

According to Guy Parmelin, Switzerland’s president, it is possible the country could suffer electricity shortages for weeks or even months by 2025. © Oliver Richter | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland faces two principal challenges when it come to electricity. The first is that it doesn’t produce enough and must import electricity to satisfy demand. During winter around 20% of Switzerland’s electricity is supplied by Germany. With the phasing out of nuclear in Switzerland this gap is set to...

Geo-blocking is the practice of pushing online shoppers to a version of a website based on their geographic location. Many consumers would like to see the practice made illegal and Swiss laws look set to make it so, according to the NZZ am Sonntag, reported Le Matin. © Shutter999 | Dreamstime.comGeo-blocking and filtering is particularly pernicious in a place like Switzerland where prices are generally much higher than the rest of Europe. There are broadly two kinds of geography-based...