Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Were you lucky enough to see the northern lights last night? If not, check out the videos and photos in Monday’s briefing.

Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

In the news:  Swiss resident with a migration background, the standard of federal asylum centres, and the northern lights in Switzerland.

• The percentage of Swiss residents over 15 with a migration background has reached 40% for the first time. Nearly 80% of these people were born abroad. The most common foreign nationalities are Italian (10%), German (9%), Portuguese (7%), French (4%), Kosovar (3%) and Spanish (3%).
• The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has noted improvements in the accommodation of asylum-seekers in Switzerland. However, significant gaps in the federal asylum centres remain, including in the care of people with special needs and in the prevention of violence, the UNHCR announced on Monday.
• The northern lights, aurora borealis, were spotted again in Switzerland last night. The colourful natural spectacle, caused by an interaction between charged particles from space and the Earth’s atmosphere, was also expected tonight – at least where the sky is clear. The phenomenon had previously been seen in Switzerland on September 24/25.

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Bern and Brussels had come to a tacit agreement to clarify their complicated relationship after the Swiss federal elections, which took place last month. What’s the situation now?

The latest episode in an increasingly difficult back-and-forth between the European Union and Switzerland slipped somewhat under the radar. In a press release from the State Secretariat for Migration at the end of October, Switzerland, which is not part of the EU, claimed that the bloc discriminates against Swiss citizens. 

Switzerland reiterated its point to the EU at a meeting in Brussels last week: “Swiss nationals in individual EU member states are affected by legislation which, in Switzerland’s view, is not compatible with the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons”.

Does the EU really discriminate against the Swiss Abroad? My colleague Balz Rigendinger examines the allegations and considers how Switzerland’s relationship with the EU could develop.

In separate news today, Swiss unions expressed concerns over recent talks between Bern and Brussels. They urge the Swiss government to defend the interests of the population in negotiations with the EU and to guarantee the protection of wages and public services.

Keystone / Martial Trezzini

Robert Federer, father of Swiss tennis star Roger, says he misses travelling with his son and family. He used to go to all the Grand Slam tournaments.

Instead, he and his wife now go on trips to the mountains with their grandchildren, he told newspaper BlickExternal link today. The family owns two chalets in the Graubünden mountain resort of Valbella.

“We travel much less than we used to, I do miss that,” Robert Federer (pictured) said.

At the tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, for example, he said it was wonderful to play golf. However, when the opportunity arises, Robert and his wife Lynette still pack their bags and accompany their son. “It’s nice that he still likes to have us parents with him,” the 77-year-old said.