Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Switzerland and the European Union are ready to negotiate bilateral relations again. Exploratory talks ended in October and it seems like both sides are now ready to get on with the tough business of deal-making. Will there be wiggle room for Swiss exceptions, or will an “all or nothing” stance torpedo the negotiations?

© Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

In the news: Swiss-EU negotiations, cabinet shuffle, uninhabitable village and mosquito control

• The Swiss government has unveiled its draft mandate for renewed negotiations with the European UnionExternal link, which will be finalised after consultation with parliament and the cantons. The objective remains the stabilisation of the bilateral path. It wants to base the negotiations on the package approach adopted almost two years ago. 
• The Federal Chancellery announced the redistribution of cabinet portfolios External linkon Thursday evening. Apart from the Social Democrats, existing ministers keep their posts. Newly elected cabinet minister Beat Jans will take over the portfolio of justice and police from Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, who in turn will become interior minister.
• More bad news External linkfor the village of Schwanden that was hit by two landslides at the end of August. The houses in the threatened area that were spared by the landslides will be demolished as they fall in the red zone of a new hazard map. Talks with the owners of the buildings concerned will be held over the next two weeks and final evacuation orders will be sent to them at the end of January.
• In a study of ponds in the Swiss canton of Vaud, scientists have shown that there are fewer mosquito larvae where there are many frogs and toads. Researchers found that mosquito larvae are more common in landscapes that have been heavily modified by humans than in areas left in their natural state. Deep, large and old ponds were found to host more amphibians and therefore fewer mosquito larvae.

Keystone / Patricia Neligan

Davos 1917: The making of a Swiss spy thriller series

Public broadcaster SRF will release its new espionage series Davos 1917 External linkon December 17. The action centres on the Swiss resort that served as a haven for spies during the First World War. Most of the shooting was done in Davos but also in the Engadine and in the studio.

At first filmmakers were worried they would not have enough snow External linkas winter 2022 was one of the least white in recorded history. Heavy snow the day before filming started helped save the shoot but then temperatures fell to -20°C and the actors were hardly able to utter their lines through chattering teeth.

Filming in the studio was not without logistical challenges either. A total of 1,500 extras were brought in during filming. In order to dress everyone in historical costumes and do their hair according to the period, up to 30 additional make-up artists were needed on site at times.