Switzerland Today

Greetings from Bern!

It’s proving to be a banner week for Swiss diplomacy, with no less than three ministers currently on visits abroad. Today President Guy Parmelin, who heads the Department of Economic Affairs, wrapped up his trip to Iceland, where ministers from the European Free Trade Association countries (Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland) were meeting in person for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

In a tweet Parmelin revealed he’d pushed for stronger free trade ties between the countries – perhaps a case of not putting all Swiss eggs in one basket now that the framework agreement with the European Union is in tatters …

© Keystone/Gaetan Bally

In the News: The Swiss failed to meet their 2020 targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which were 31% lower than 1990 levels, just short of the goal of 33%.

• According to the Federal Office of the Environment, restrictions to fight the spread of Covid-19 – such as school and restaurant closures and a work-from-home obligation – had no impact on people’s use of oil and gas last year. Missing these targets now means a tax on CO2 will go up from CHF96 ($104) to CHF120 per tonne of emissions in 2022.
• The news came as Environment Minister Simonetta Sommaruga was in Senegal signing an agreement that allows Switzerland to offset its CO2 emissions by financing projects in the West African country. The Senegalese are using Swiss funding to build biogas plants on farms to help cut down reliance on firewood and charcoal. It’s the third such agreement the Alpine nation has signed (the other two are with Peru and Ghana).
• Nearly two months after the Belarusian government was accused of diverting a Ryanair passenger plane in order to arrest opposition activist Roman Protasevich, Switzerland has announced further sanctions on President Alexander Lukashenko’s inner circle and dozens of other figures and organisations. The authoritarian regime was already the target of Western sanctions for its heavy-handed repression of political protesters since the August 2020 presidential elections.

© Keystone / Gaetan Bally

What’s trending in Switzerland: Happy World Chocolate Day! Will you be celebrating by sneaking a piece of Swiss chocolate out of a well guarded stash?

Strangely, chocolate is not always trending in this country. Last year, consumption of the sweet treat actually fell to less than 10kg per person for the first time since 1982. Seems the pandemic didn’t induce any chocolate panic-buying.

No word on whether Roger Federer has stuck some chocolate in his tennis bag as he laces up for his quarterfinal match at Wimbledon today. Fans will be hoping for an eventual showdown with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the finals on Sunday but not all tennis observersExternal link think it’s a safe bet.

With the summer holiday season officially upon us, would-be travellers looking to get a Covid-19 PCR test done ahead of flying out of the country have been met with disappointment. Test centres across Switzerland are reportedly booked outExternal link for the coming weeks, leaving holiday-makers scrambling as they try to meet  travel requirements that include a negative test result.

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