Switzerland Today
Greetings from Lausanne!
Here are the latest news and stories from Switzerland on Friday.
In the news: a new CO2 law, a radio telescope project and major court cases.
- As expected, the government has presented a new revision of the CO2 lawExternal link for the 2025-2030 period. It no longer contains controversial taxes, one of the reasons that led to 51% of voters rejecting an earlier revised CO2 law in June. The focus is now on incentives, renovating buildings and climate-friendly heating systems.
- The government has given the green light for Switzerland to join the “Square Kilometer Array Observatory” (SKAO) – an international project to build the world’s largest-ever radio telescope. It will be created on two sites. South Africa will raise 130 antennas of a diameter of 15 metres, while 130,000 TV-style antennas will be erected in Australia (see photo above).
- A Swiss man who had previously been found guilty of spying on a German tax authority in 2017 has received a suspended fine in Switzerland for attempted economic espionage.
- The Swiss Federal Court dismissed on Friday a final appealExternal link by a Kremlin-linked Russian businessman, Vladislav Klyushin, seeking to block his extradition to the United States by arguing he was a victim of a US political campaign to snare him on trumped-up charges.
The government has proposed new measures to stem surging Covid-19 infections.
From Monday, it foreseesExternal link a roll-out of the so-called “2G” rule, limiting entry to indoor public places – restaurants, bars, concert halls, cinemas etc. – to those who either are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or have recovered from it.
To provide extra protection in this scenario, which would exclude unvaccinated people with a negative test from indoor activities, mask-wearing will also be compulsory. There will also be the obligation – in the case of restaurants and bars – to sit while eating. For places like discos and bars where masks cannot be worn, visitors will also be required to show a negative test result.
The measures, which last until January 24, reimpose a requirement for people to work from home and limit private gatherings to 10 people if anyone aged 16 or above has not been vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19.
The fifth wave of Covid infections hit the country in mid-October. On December 8 there were a record 12,598 new reported infections. Last week the number of daily cases slowed slightly. On Friday, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) recorded 9,841 new cases, as well as 42 deaths. Intensive care units are 82% full, according to the FOPH’s dashboard.External link
“High-price island” Switzerland – the latest price comparison
The cost of living in Switzerland is well known for being among the highest in the world. A new studyExternal link gives the latest price comparison breakdown with other European countries.
It showsExternal link that the average price of goods and services in Switzerland is almost 60% higher than in the European Union. Switzerland comes ahead of Iceland and Norway.
Swiss wages are admittedly higher than in most EU countries. But in return, Swiss residents have to pay more for just about all goods and services. In 2020, Switzerland’s purchasing power parity stood at CHF1.71 francs to €1 euro, says the Federal Statistical Office. This means that a person who spends CHF171 in Switzerland – whether for food, Internet access or seeing a doctor – would spend only €100 on average in the EU for the same thing. The exchange rate is currently €1 = CHF1.04.
For some categories, there are big differences: hospital services cost over three times more in Switzerland than in the EU, education is also almost three times more expensive, and the price of meat is two and a half times higher. But the prices of audiovisual, photographic and computer equipment are slightly lower than the European average.
Has Switzerland had a good image abroad this year?
The Biden-Putin face-to-face summit in Geneva in June gave a boost to Switzerland’s image in the foreign press as a “bridge-builder” and that of International Geneva, according to Presence SwitzerlandExternal link, the foreign ministry’s promotional arm.
“In contrast, developments in Swiss-EU relations attracted negative attention,” it said. This was particularly the case in neighbouring countries media, which were sceptical about the consequences of Switzerland’s withdrawal from the negotiations with Brussels for an institutional framework agreement to oversee long-term ties.
Swiss voters’ decision to ban face coverings in March, the “burka ban” vote, also attracted significant attention worldwide. Foreign media reactions to its approval included both positive and negative commentary, said Presence Switzerland.
There was also much foreign press attention on the “marriage for all” vote in September, and its definitive introduction was widely welcomed. Some media were surprised and concluded that Switzerland was apparently more liberal than stereotypes would suggest.
In general, Switzerland continues to enjoy a “generally very good reputation” abroad, according to the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brand Index (NBI), carried out for the department.
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