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Hello from Bern, where the government (so far) hasn’t taken a decision to follow the latest EU sanctions targeting Russian oil. But in the press – and even in shared flats! – energy and environment issues are the flavour of the day – and the theme of Wednesday’s briefing.

karin keller sutter
© Keystone / Anthony Anex

In the news: Ukrainians in Switzerland look for work, less or more successfully.


  • Of the 54,000 Ukrainian refugees registered in Switzerland since February, only 1,000 have received a work permit, authorities said today. Most permits were for the hotel and restaurant sector, followed by IT, education and agriculture. The special ‘S’ status granted to those fleeing Ukraine foresees that they will go home again once the war is over, but it also encourages finding work in Switzerland in the meantime.
  • Authorities in Bern recently vetoed a Danish request to send Swiss-made armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine, Swiss public television reported today. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) rejected Denmark’s bid to provide Kiev with some 20 Piranha III infantry fighting vehicles, saying it was not in line with the Swiss policy of not sending arms to conflict zones. A similar decision involving a German request made headlines in April.
industrial pipe
© Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Energy & Environment part one – bye bye Russian oil.


After the EU agreed on Monday to cut down drastically, if not completely, on Russian oil, how will Switzerland be affected? Rising fuel costs are clear. But the longer-term outlook is harder to judge, the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES) told Keystone-SDA yesterday. Switzerland doesn’t import oil directly from Russia, but it does get three-quarters of its supply from its European neighbours; if (or rather when) Germany cuts down on Russian sources, Switzerland will be hit. And while stockpiles of motor and heating oil can keep the show on the road for 4.5 months in an emergency, according to FONES, it’s then up to the market to adapt.

Is this a problem? A spokesman for the Avenergy fuel importers association reckons not: “Oil can be transported by ship, train, or pipeline, and there are producers in the whole world,” Fabian Bilger told Keystone. Supplies are not under threat, he added. He didn’t say who these new producers would be, but another expert in Le Temps today thinks that one option could be Iran – another country with complicated political and human rights issues… For Switzerland, the next concrete decision will be whether or not to take over the latest EU sanctions in the first place – like it has taken over all EU sanctions to date. The government in Bern, silent so far, meets again on Friday.

solar panels
© Keystone / Thomas Delley

Energy & Environment part two – Swiss want clean energy, but careful about the view!


Beyond the fuel in Swiss SUVs, the other big concern right now is electricity: not only because of the war in Ukraine and rising prices, but also due to pre-existing difficulties with the EU and the general shift towards green energy (which the increase in electric cars is ironically not helping). With shortages looming, something has to change: but what? Should we consume less, or just produce differently? Should we listen to people like this letter writerExternal link, who calculates that the energy needs of one person in Switzerland needs the equivalent of 20 “serfs” working the earth to supply him/her?

According to a survey publishedExternal link yesterday by Gfs Bern, securing electricity supplies is much more important for the Swiss than shifting to climate neutrality (53% versus 25%); it’s even more important than keeping prices down. In short: we’re prepared to fork out more to put juice into our iPhones – even if it’s dirty juice – as long as we just have the damn juice! That said, almost 100% are in favour of more hydro and solar power, and a sizeable amount (67%) are ready to make “concessions” to enable this – e.g. allowing the building of new dams on old glaciers, or covering motorways and buildings with solar panels. Again, however, the closer all this comes to the individual, the less keen he or she is; for example, only a small majority (55%) are ok with having a view of wind turbines from their balcony…

bowl of tofu soup
Keystone / J. Kenji López-alt

Energy & Environment part three – meat wars in the Green party.


Finally, what about eating less meat, which means less energy-intensive agriculture, a healthier environment, and less barbarism towards our animal friends? The trend of cutting down on animal products has gripped the land, whether it’s Greenpeace campaigns targeting meat adverts (see May 18’s briefing), shared flats only accepting vegetarian roommates (today’s 20 MinutenExternal link), or more and more “plant-based” foods in supermarkets. But the issue is controversial: notably, a recent decision by the Geneva section of the Green Party to ban its deputies from eating meat in public led to widespread (and predictably negative) media coverage.

It also led to internal divisions within the Greens: and in today’s Le TempsExternal link, the national leader of the party, Balthasar Glättli, said his French-speaking colleagues perhaps “didn’t find the right balance between probity and coherence”. Glättli himself also wants to see a change in how meat and animal products are made, as well as a “massive reduction” in the amount of meat eaten by humans. However, the Geneva ban maybe centred on the “wrong question” – stigmatising meat eaters rather than on the conditions in which it is produced. “We need to transform, not to punish,” Glättli said. With a national vote on industrial farming upcoming in September, Swiss people will have their say on such a transformation.


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An increasing number of people in Switzerland chose a vegetarian or vegan diet various reasons. What are your experiences?

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