The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Defence minister proposes pooling resources to cope with disasters

Firefighting aircraft
Parmelin proposed procuring a Canadair type of aircraft for fighting forest fires. Keystone

Switzerland’s defence minister Guy Parmelin has floated the idea of sharing resources with other countries to respond to emergencies like fires and droughts. 

In an interview published in the NZZ am Sonntag paper on Sunday, Parmelin proposed the creation of a resource pool with other countries which could be commandeered during an emergency. He cited the example of Swiss helicopters helping fight fires in Portugal last year and suggested that such collaboration could be improved if a shared pool was established. 

Parmelin acknowledged that it would require a mechanism for sharing the costs. He said that he will discuss the idea with cantonal military directors. 

The army’s role has not changed despite the increased threat from climate change, he added. According to him, what has changed is an increase in requests for assistance due to drought, forest fires or landslides. The army had to step in recently to airlift water for cows on mountain pastures because of drought conditions. 

Parmelin said the army could use more helicopters for emergency situations like the landslides in the town of Bondo in eastern Switzerland last year. According to him, almost all of the army’s Super Puma helicopters were in action in the aftermath of the disaster. He also proposed procuring a Canadair type of aircraft for fighting forest fires, as the army did not have one.

More
two cows in mountain pasture

More

Army helicopters bring water for thirsty cows

This content was published on As the dry weather continues, Swiss army helicopters have been bringing emergency water supplies to cattle farmers in high mountain pastures.

Read more: Army helicopters bring water for thirsty cows


Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Planes

More

Airspace congestion jeopardises safety

This content was published on Flight safety is reduced by the clogging of airspace, says Thomas Steffen, a pilot for Swiss and head of safety at Aeropers, the industry association.

Read more: Airspace congestion jeopardises safety
Work by Malaysian artist on display in Thun

More

Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann holds first major European exhibition in Thun

This content was published on Das Kunstmuseum Thun richtet im August die erste grössere Europaausstellung der malaysischen Künstlerin Yee I-Lann aus. Darin werden Einflüsse des Kolonialismus aber auch das Fortbestehen des indigenen Erbes thematisiert.

Read more: Malaysian artist Yee I-Lann holds first major European exhibition in Thun
Hackers publish sensitive Radix data on the Darknet

More

Data from Swiss health foundation Radix leaked on the dark web

This content was published on After the cyber attack suffered by the Radix foundation at the end of last month, sensitive personal data such as names and debts of people banned from casinos were published on the Darknet.

Read more: Data from Swiss health foundation Radix leaked on the dark web
0.5 per cent less CO2 for companies with a net zero target

More

Net zero firms emit 0.5% less CO2, study finds

This content was published on Companies with an externally validated net-zero target emit less CO2 than those without a climate target. This is the conclusion of a new analysis by the US financial services provider MSCI.

Read more: Net zero firms emit 0.5% less CO2, study finds
Cyberattacks on Swiss companies increase by 9 per cent

More

Cyberattacks on Swiss companies increase by 9%

This content was published on Swiss companies are increasingly being targeted by cyber criminals. In the past quarter, every single company in this country was the target of a cyber attack an average of 1097 times a week.

Read more: Cyberattacks on Swiss companies increase by 9%
21 minutes of power interruption per end customer in 2024

More

Swiss households faced 21 minutes of power outages in 2024

This content was published on End customers experienced an average of 21 minutes of electricity interruption in 2024. This resulted in 0.34 power outages per capita. The duration of electricity interruptions increased by three minutes compared to the previous year.

Read more: Swiss households faced 21 minutes of power outages in 2024
SMEs struggle to find staff, 'employees have more power'

More

Swiss SMEs struggling to find employees

This content was published on Swiss small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling to find staff, a problem made more acute by the increased bargaining power of employees and increased absenteeism.

Read more: Swiss SMEs struggling to find employees

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR