Switzerland Today

Greetings from Zurich,

A new week emerges with the sad news of five dead ski tourists whose bodies were found by rescuers following a sever storm in canton Valais.

We also bring you a round-up of the other main talking points of the day.

The Swiss-Indian FTA has been a long time coming KEYSTONE

In the news: Mountain deaths, Indian trade deal and the most popular Swiss minister.

• Switzerland has finally signed a free trade agreement with India, which promises to remove many trade barriers between the two countries.
• Five members of a six-person ski tour party have been found dead by rescuers after the group went missing in bad weather in canton Valais.
• The newest Federal Councillor, Beat Jans, has been declared the most popular government minister by a new survey.
• The popular Barbie movie has given Swiss cinemas a boost as admissions continue to rise.

Bad weather has been blamed for the fatalities KEYSTONE

Mountain tragedy

Given the paucity of snow this winter, the number of accidents and fatalities in the mountains has been mercifully few.

That was until this week, when five skiers were found dead near the Tête Blanche mountain in canton Valais. At the time of writing, the fate of the sixth member of the party is unknown.

Rescuers made the grim discovery on Sunday evening amid atrocious weather conditions that had sealed the fate of the missing party.

The group, all Swiss nationals, had set off on a ski touring route between Zermatt and Arolla at the weekend but were caught out by a sudden and devastating deterioration in the weather.

The rescue attempt was hampered by very strong winds and extreme cold.

Experts refused to blame tour guides who decided to go ahead with the strenuous six-hour climb of 2,000 metres.

The weather is extremely unpredictable in the alpine region but was apparently clear when the group set off on what should have been a fun adventure.

Swiss-EU talks face opposition in Switzerland KEYSTONE

EU negotiations – mission impossible?

Here we go again. Three years after walking away from the negotiating table, Switzerland is prepared to re-engage with the European Union by the end of March.

But, for the time being, the champagne corks remain firmly squeezed in their bottles. The lack of celebratory mood has a lot to do with uncertainty around future talks on bilateral relations with the EU.

Not everyone is happy with the impending resumption of negotiations. These include the Swiss People’s Party, trade unions and some cantons.  

“Even the loudest supporters of further development of the bilaterals are hardly brimming with optimism,” says Andy Müller, political correspondent at Swiss public broadcaster SRF.

That’s because the negotiating mandate itself is a compromise between those who want more and those who want less – and between the political left and right.

At the end of the day, the Swiss public will get the final say on the matter. That’s why negotiations were abandoned in 2021. The government thought the agreement would be torn up by voters.

The vote for a 13^th monthly pension payment earlier this month should give pause for thought. Swiss voters are in no mood to accept the government’s recommendation at face value.

“Where there is a will, there’s a way,” Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told SRF.

“Look what’s happening around Switzerland. Unfortunately, we live in a very turbulent world. War in Ukraine, the Middle East, North Africa, the South Caucasus, tensions in the Western Balkans. We need stable and predictable relationships with our neighboring countries.”

That didn’t stop SRF suggesting to Cassis that the renewed negotiations resembled a potential Mission Impossible.