Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
This is causing a stir in Switzerland: the Senate wants to subject the Bilateral Agreements III – the new treaties between Switzerland and the EU – to a referendum requiring a double majority both of voters and cantons. Rural cantons could thus throw a spanner in the works for the Federal Council, which is in favour of the agreements.
However, supporters do not seem overly concerned. They expect the double-majority requirement to be rejected when the issue is debated by the other parliamentary chamber, the House of Representatives.
Warm regards from Bern.
Do the new agreements between Switzerland and the EU require the approval of the cantons as well as that of the people? The Senate has caused a stir with its landmark decision – and exposed divisions between urban and rural Switzerland, as well as between linguistic regions.
The Senate wants to subject the Bilateral Agreements III to a double majority. In a referendum, this would mean that not only a majority of voters would be required, but also a majority of the cantons. But in an interview with Swiss public broadcaster RSI, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis says he remains confident. He emphasises that, while significant work will be needed to explain the rationale behind the package, the goal remains achievable despite the need to win over Switzerland’s rural cantons.
The Swiss press reports that the Senate vote has laid bare deep divisions: while French-speaking Switzerland and urban cantons such as Zurich don’t want the double-majority requirement, rural Senators voted in favour of it. However, the decision could still be overturned in the House of Representatives.
Despite this new hurdle, supporters of the EU agreements believe they are gaining momentum, according to an analysis by the Tages-Anzeiger. In the Senate, there was a clear majority in favour of the substance of the package. The ‘yes’ camp is now even aiming for a referendum in the summer of 2027.
A glance at the mountains these days is shocking: there is hardly any snow left to be seen on the high Alpine peaks. Following the extremely hot summer, Switzerland’s glaciers are continuing to melt at record speed. This historic retreat is changing not only the mountain landscape but also Europe’s water reserves.
Swiss glaciers experienced another catastrophic year in 2026, losing 5.5% of their ice volume, according to Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS), a research network. In the last five years alone, almost a fifth of the ice mass has disappeared.
The Aletsch Glacier was particularly hard hit, losing up to 13 metres of ice in places, reports 20 Minuten. Smaller glaciers such as the Plattalva even disappeared completely during the hot summer.
And despite the extreme heat, less meltwater flowed in 2026 than during the heatwave year of 2003. The reason is paradoxical: frozen reservoirs have simply become too small to effectively cushion longer dry spells further downstream.
One in three older people in Switzerland sometimes feels lonely. A new study shows that, despite a high quality of life, a lack of social contact affects hundreds of thousands of people.
More than 800,000 people over the age of 60 in Switzerland occasionally miss having company, Pro Senectute reports today in a new study. Around 140,000 of those affected even experience severe loneliness on a regular basis.
People living alone and those on low incomes are particularly at risk. Loneliness is therefore less a question of age than of a person’s life circumstances. The risk of becoming isolated, for example, increases dramatically following a bereavement.
The health consequences range from depression to physical ailments. Experts are therefore calling not only for voluntary initiatives but also for policy measures such as free meeting places and age-friendly urban planning.
The voting envelope is in the letterbox. But is there enough time for it to make the journey back home? The latest episode of our podcast ‘Ade merci, Schweiz’ focuses on the voting rights of Swiss citizens living abroad and explores why many do not cast their vote in the first place.
“I’m still very interested in the major issues of principle that will determine Switzerland’s future direction,” says Sandra Buol. Nine years ago, the Bern native emigrated to Sydney for love. For her, one thing is certain: “As long as I hold Swiss citizenship, the right to participate in politics is part and parcel of that.”
Since 1977, Swiss nationals who have moved abroad have had this right. Yet not everyone makes use of it: of the 662,500 Swiss nationals of voting age living abroad at the end of last year, only around 246,000 are registered on the electoral roll.
Among the pitfalls Swiss citizens living abroad encounter when they want to vote are delayed voting papers and high postage costs. The question is then: why is there still no nationwide e-voting system to facilitate political participation?
Political scientist Marc Bühlmann looks at the history: when the e-voting debate began 20 years ago, there was a sense of euphoria, and parliamentarians wanted to speed up the process with motions and parliamentary initiatives. “Then the tide began to turn with the first critical voices,” says Bühlmann. Questions about security came to the fore, and once again there were motions – this time to put the brakes on the process.
“That’s typical of Switzerland,” according to the political scientist, who draws a comparison with the history of postal voting. “It took 100 years for it to be introduced nationwide – also because of security concerns.”
Translated from German, sub-edited by Alexandra MV Andrist/dos
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