Switzerland Today

Hello from Bern, where biker gangs continue to make the news, and parliament continues its summer session. Here’s the latest updates from Tuesday.

© Keystone / Stringer

In the news: battle of the bikers day two, and no more pesticides for amateur gardeners?

• The Bern trial of various members of motorbike gangs saw more violence on its second day. As on Monday, police had to intervene in the city centre to break up skirmishes between the Hells Angels/Broncos and the Bandidos. Due to the disruptions, notably to traffic in the area, authorities are reportedly considering moving the trial to another location. It is due to run until the end of June.
• The Swiss Senate voted last night in favour of restricting the sale of certain dangerous pesticides to amateur gardeners. According to the proposed legal change, in future only certain “non-toxic” substances, to be defined on a federal list, would be available for non-professional use. The issue now has to be voted on by the other parliamentary chamber, the House of Representatives.
• Switzerland remains a high-price island for medical drugs, according to an annual survey by health insurers and pharma research groups. The difference in prices compared to other European countries was again most notable for generic drugs, almost twice as expensive in Switzerland. Health insurers want politicians to take action to regulate prices, while pharma groups want to drive prices down through innovation.
• The Geneva-based fragrance and flavour maker Firmenich and Dutch company Royal DSM have agreed a deal to form a new fragrance giant. The new company is expected to be a leader in nutrition, beauty and wellness products, and will be listed on the stock exchange in Amsterdam, the groups said on Tuesday. The Geneva operations of Firmenich will not be affected by the merger, which is to be completed in the first half of next year.

© Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

Football philanthropy: Swiss connection to Chelsea given green light.

Bern-born billionaire Hansjörg Wyss is to officially become a part-owner of Chelsea FC. After months of speculation following the sanctions placed on the club’s previous owner Roman Abramovich, the sale to a consortium including Wyss was finalised last night for £4.25 billion (CHF5.13 billion). In an interview in today’s Neue Zürcher ZeitungExternal link, however, 86-year-old Wyss only wants to talk about philanthropy (how he manages to filter the many requests for donations), the differences between Switzerland and the US (“people are basically the same everywhere”), and the best way to promote innovative medical research (through interdisciplinary projects). As for football and Chelsea, he declines to comment, and simply downplays his role as a member of the consortium, which is headed by US businessman Todd Boehly.

Keystone / How Hwee Young

Frozen, liquid, or hot air? China denies rumours of trade talks problems.

Are Swiss-Chinese talks on updating their free trade agreement “frozen”? On Sunday, media reported that Beijing was blocking progress due to Swiss criticism of its human rights record – particularly the Uyghur situation in the northwest of the country. Today however, China denied this. “The situation of talks being frozen does not exist. Both sides are maintaining close communication on this,” a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said, according to Reuters. While it’s difficult to get the truth on what’s going on behind closed doors, it wouldn’t be the first trade agreement between the West and China to come under pressure due to human rights concerns, after the EU last year, and US sanctions imposed in 2020 and 2021, the news agency writes. For Switzerland, the economic stakes are high: China is the country’s third-largest export market after Germany and the US.