Switzerland Today

Greetings from Lausanne!

It was a difficult communication exercise for officials at Geneva Airport today. The number of passengers passing through Geneva this summer is expected to soar – almost back to the levels seen in 2019 before the pandemic.

But there are clouds on the horizon. “We are well prepared… but we have to deal with the problems of other actors,” said airport boss André Schneider, describing the situation at UK airports as “chaotic”. Staff, logistics and air traffic problems exist at other European airports. Expect flight delays and cancellations. Not an easy message to pass at the start of the summer holidays.

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In the news: more passengers at Geneva Airport, imported gold from Russia, cinema admissions down and optimism among the Swiss.

• Geneva Airport says it is preparing for a “difficultsummer”. It saysExternal link passenger traffic has returned quickly and this summer should reach 90% of the level seen in 2019 before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. But many problems exist elsewhere in Europe that may have a knock-on effect.
• Swiss biotechnologist Madiha Derouazi has been awarded a prestigious European Inventor prize together with the French immunologist Elodie Benoue (see photo above).
• Switzerland imported three tonnes of gold from Russia in May – the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine. This suggests a change in perception of Russian bullion, which became taboo following the invasion.
• Nine out of ten Swisscitizens said at the beginning of the year that they felt secure and their optimism about the future had increased compared with 2021, according to a new survey
• Coronavirus restrictions at cinemas were lifted four months ago, but the Swiss are not returning to the big screen. New figuresExternal link for January to June show that cinema admissions are down by 30% compared with the same period in 2019.
• Patients in Switzerland should be more involved in healthcaredecisions, says the Federal Quality Commission in its first annual report published on Tuesday.

© Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Switzerland is again lagging behind most European countries when it comes to solar and wind power.

The latest survey by the private Swiss Energy FoundationExternal link found Switzerland in 23^rd spot in a European comparison. Denmark and Sweden remain the leading solarandwindproducers per head. Only Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia and Latvia fared worse than Switzerland.

The Swiss authorities are committed to achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. Solar power is one of the main planks of this strategy. Renewable energies must meet the growing demand for electricity as nuclear power plants are being decommissioned. The authorities want 34 terawatt hours (TWh) of solar-generated electricity a year by 2050 (2.6TWh were generated in 2020). 

In 2020, nearly 50% more solar panels were erected compared with 2019, but the 100,000 solar installations cover only 4.7% of Switzerland’s entire energy consumption. The industry body Swissolar says that the number of installations would have to increase 15-fold to meet renewable energy targets. Yet implementing solar projects is easier said than done: critics say they are still too slow and expensive.

The federal authorities insist they are doing a great deal, especially via proposed changestothelaw. The government made available CHF470 million in 2021External link to encourage small and large solar installations and says it is simplifying procedures. Changes to Swiss energy lawExternal link, such as financial incentives to encourage large solar installations and panels on facades, should boost numbers.

The Swiss Energy Foundation says efforts are needed to promote large solar panel installations with financial guarantees and extra state aid.

© Keystone / Christian Beutler

Social security accord extended for cross-border workers who telework.

The coronavirus pandemic led to many employees re-thinking their employment situation and switching to hybrid work arrangements with days at home and in the office. This has meant adapting the employment conditions for cross-border workers at Swiss firms.

Under the current arrangement, a cross-border worker from a neighbouring country remains subject to Swiss social security legislation, even when s/he exercises activity in the form of teleworking in a home residence, regardless of the share of activity.

The present agreements concerning social security contributions and taxes of cross-border employees of Swiss companies still working from home are set to expireExternal link on June 30. Groups representing these workers have been calling on the relevant authorities to renew the accords.

The section that covers social security has now been extended until December 31, 2022, according to an announcementExternal link from the Federal Social Insurance Office. But the agreement on taxation has not yet been extended. The State Secretariat for International Finance saysExternal link that talks “are still ongoing”.

From 1 January 2023, European rules should be adjusted or interpreted to allow a certain amount of teleworking from the state of residence, without the competence in matters of social security changing. Changes will be prepared over the next few months in Europe, as well as between Switzerland and its neighbours.