The week in Switzerland
Dear Swiss Abroad,
How many passports have you got? Do you know how “powerful” they are? This week the Swiss passport was ranked in the global top ten for visa-free travel around the world.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Swiss President Guy Parmelin condemned the rise of protectionism and the violation of UN principles.
The world is at a tipping point, Parmelin said on Tuesday. “The most fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter – the prohibition of the use of force and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity – are being openly violated,” he said.
Parmelin called for a return to multilateralism, adding that the loss of trust between nations extended beyond the realm of peace and security and was affecting the global economy. “Protectionism is on the rise. Supply chains built up over decades of interdependence are being reorganised or fragmented as a result of geopolitical tensions.”
He said Switzerland, as a neutral country, still offered its good offices and supported a space conducive to dialogue. “Switzerland, as a host state, will continue to ensure that Geneva remains open, accessible and inclusive, for large and small states alike, and for the North and the South,” Parmelin said.
“Certain transformations have become so profound and so rapid that no single state can, on its own, manage all their consequences. We need institutions capable of dealing with issues that transcend borders. We need multilateralism,” he concluded.
The Swiss Senate has given UBS “two black eyes and a broken nose”, as the bank’s CEO Sergio Ermotti put it, by voting in favour of tougher capital rules.
On Wednesday parliamentarians supported a proposal that would require UBS to back its foreign units with 90% Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital, rejecting a proposal favoured by UBS to allow the bank to use 50% CET1 capital and 50% Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital, which is cheaper to hold. The new rules are intended to tighten the “too-big-to-fail” framework in Switzerland.
UBS estimates that the tougher capital rules could require it to hold about $18 billion (CHF14.9 billion) in additional capital. “This political outcome is not a compromise and fails to address the root causes of the Credit Suisse collapse,” it complained.
The result is a win for Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter in a long and bitter stand-off with Ermotti. “The second half of this power play between the finance minister and the UBS boss is yet to be played,” Blick wrote. “After all, the House of Representatives also has a say in the matter [probably next year]. But following the final whistle in the Senate, one thing is clear: it’s definitely 1-0 to KKS.”
When it comes to visa-free travel, a Swiss passport does pretty well. It has come joint ninth in a global ranking, with 119 visa-free destinations and 54 countries requiring a visa on arrival or other entry formalities for Swiss citizens.
There are no downsides for European destinations, according to the Passport Reports ranking published on Tuesday. Swiss nationals can visit 44 European destinations without a visa. For Russia a visa on arrival is required, and the UK demands an electronic travel authorisation.
The situation is also favourable for travel to North and South America, the Gulf states and the Caribbean. These destinations are all accessible either visa-free, with a visa on arrival or with an electronic travel authorisation.
Singapore tops the list with 129 visa-free destinations, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 128. Afghanistan comes last: from Afghanistan only three countries are accessible without a visa.
Switzerland applies stricter entry requirements than it faces itself. In the hospitality ranking, Switzerland comes 92nd out of the 199 countries surveyed. This means that nationals of many countries where Swiss nationals are welcomed without difficulty require a visa to enter Switzerland.
Swiss news that made headlines around the world this week was the admission by Granit Xhaka, captain of the Swiss national football team, that he had obtained a fake Covid vaccination certificate in 2022. Swiss prosecutors have now got involved.
“At the time I was personally very anxious and had serious reservations about the Covid-19 vaccine,” Xhaka said in a statement on social media on Monday, three days after Blick first reported the news. “In this turbulent emotional state, I obtained a vaccination certificate instead of clarifying my open questions through the proper channels. Today I clearly see this was not the right course of action. It was a mistake. I am sorry.”
Xhaka, who is also the captain of English team Sunderland but was playing for Arsenal at the time, was then withdrawn from the Swiss squad. He is set to be questioned next week by the prosecutor’s office in Lucerne, where the doctor accused of issuing false Covid certificates was based during the pandemic. The doctor denies the allegations.
The potential penalty for Xhaka, who turns 34 on Sunday, is relatively severe, a legal expert told Swiss public broadcaster SRF on Tuesday, pointing out that forgery of documents is a criminal offence and punishable by a fine or a prison sentence of up to five years. “Let’s assume that Granit Xhaka has no previous convictions – in other words, he’s a first-time offender under criminal law – and that we’re not dealing with a really serious offence here: then I expect it will probably result in a suspended fine,” Sven Zimmerlin told SRF. “But that’s for the prosecutors or the court to decide.”
Edited by Simon Bradley
The week ahead
On Sunday the Swiss head to the polls to decide two issues at a federal level (the neutrality initiative and the food security initiative) and many others at cantonal and municipal level. Swissinfo will analyse the results, focusing on how the Swiss Abroad voted.
How healthy are the Swiss? The 13th nutrition and physical activity monitor will be presented on Wednesday.
Figures on glacier melt during the (very hot) summer will be published on Thursday.
Friday is 25 years since Swissair was grounded.
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