The week in Switzerland
Dear Swiss Abroad,
You’d think most countries would be happy to have France and Italy as neighbours, but this week the Swiss government decided to (temporarily) re-introduce border checks owing to the G7 summit in France next month, and the Swiss president travelled to Rome to try to calm a diplomatic storm following the fatal Crans-Montana fire.
The security situation in Switzerland and Europe has deteriorated significantly over the past year, the Swiss government noted in a report on Wednesday.
Russia poses the greatest threat to Europe and is waging a hybrid conflict with sabotage, propaganda and disinformation, it said. “Switzerland is directly affected by this, for example through cyberattacks, espionage and attempts to circumvent sanctions.”
Geopolitical developments are also having an impact on Switzerland’s internal security, according to the report. The threat of terrorism continues to be dominated by the jihadist movement, with the online radicalisation of young people a concern for the security authorities. Violent extremism from the left and right continues. The espionage threat to Switzerland is very high: state institutions, international organisations, companies and universities are targets of foreign intelligence services. Critical infrastructures are threatened by physical attacks and cyberattacks.
At the same time, US commitment to Europe’s security and defence is uncertain, the report said. “The risk of Europe’s and Switzerland’s vulnerability will therefore increase in the coming years. This is why European countries are arming themselves and reducing their military dependencies. The same challenges also apply to Switzerland.”
The report concluded that Europe’s “eroding security” also increased the expectations on Switzerland to make a greater contribution to security on the continent. “In view of the deteriorating situation, the Federal Council wants to substantially strengthen Switzerland’s security and defence,” it said.
Hospital bills for Italian victims of the Crans-Montana fire will no longer be forwarded to victims’ families, Swiss President Guy Parmelin confirmed on Tuesday during a visit to Rome.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had recently voiced anger after hospital bills – and copies of bills – were sent from Switzerland to Italy for treatment provided to fire victims. A blaze in a nightclub in the mountain resort of Crans-Montana, southwestern Switzerland, on New Year’s Eve killed 41 people and injured 115. Six Italians died and ten were injured.
Bills for the treatment of three injured people ranged from CHF17,000 to CHF66,800 ($21,600-$84,900). The invoices caused outrage in Italy.
Although the Swiss government has not yet formally approved the arrangement, criticism is already emerging in parliament. Cyril Aellen from the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party argued that Switzerland was “giving in to the Italian sirens” and risked paying more than Italy would have covered in return. “In cases like this, the Italians should pay for their nationals and the Swiss for theirs. That seems much healthier to me,” he told Swiss public broadcaster RTS.
“No one here has a monopoly on suffering,” Le Temps in Geneva wrote in an editorial on Tuesday. “Perhaps that suffering should be shared in order to move forward. The deep ties between Swiss and Italians, now sorely tested, deserve better than this political turbulence.”
Did high-ranking Nazi Josef Mengele stay in Switzerland in the 1960s? The Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) this week said it would grant access to its files on Mengele at the Swiss Federal Archives, having previously blocked them.
The International Auschwitz Committee welcomed the decision. For Auschwitz survivors, Josef Mengele remains, even after several decades, a name that makes one shudder, wrote executive vice-president Christoph Heubner in a statement on Tuesday.
Mengele, nicknamed the “Angel of Death”, was head doctor at Auschwitz, conducting inhuman and often fatal experiments on prisoners. He managed to escape the Nuremberg trials after the war and fled to Argentina. He evaded capture until his death by drowning in Brazil in 1979.
Despite his notoriety, it is thought he returned to Europe once as a tourist – and came to Switzerland. Several Swiss parliamentarians have put forward motions to find out more about Mengele’s time in Switzerland.
Switzerland is again temporarily introducing border checks owing to the G7 summit in Evian in neighbouring France. The measure will apply from June 10-19.
On Wednesday the Swiss government defended the decision, saying that although the summit was taking place in France, the Swiss cities of Geneva and Lausanne as well as the entire Lake Geneva region were exposed to certain security risks. The G7 summit will take place from June 15-17.
Previous G7 meetings have led to violent clashes, disruptions and sabotage as well as damage to property, the government said in a statement. In addition, the large number of international organisations in the region and the tense geopolitical situation generally presented challenges.
An alliance of left-wing organisations has called for a major demonstration in Geneva on June 14. A day of action with panel discussions, stands and lectures is also planned for the day before. The Geneva authorities have not yet authorised the demonstration. The “NoG7” coalition announced at the end of April that the demo would take place, with or without authorisation.
The week ahead
Fans of cow-fighting should head to Sion on Sunday for the national final of the “fight of the queens”.
On Monday the Federal Statistical Office publishes data breaking down criminal convictions last year.
The Eurovision Song Contest kicks off in Vienna on Tuesday. Will Swiss singer Veronica Fusaro qualify for the final on Saturday?
Thursday is the start of not only the three-day Fantasy Basel – The Swiss Comic Con (the largest pop culture convention in Switzerland) but also the four-day Federal Music Festival in Biel/Bienne.
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