Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The sale of Swiss arms to other countries is back in the centre of the debate: an inspection in Jordan has raised doubts about compliance with the federal ban on re-exports. It’s a rule that parliament wants to relax, but the people will have the final say in a vote.
The ban on the re-export of arms sold by Switzerland to other countries is again in the spotlight after Jordan partially prevented a Swiss delegation from checking weapons exported by Switzerland.
Countries that import Swiss arms cannot transfer them to others. Switzerland can verify on the spot, by means of so-called Post-Shipment Verifications (PSV), whether the war materiel is still in the recipient state. Only then can it be discovered to what extent the country in question has really fulfilled the commitment it made at the time of purchase.
In February, inspectors sent to Jordan managed to verify the presence of only slightly more than a third of the materiel sold by Switzerland, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) indicated in a report that Swiss public broadcaster SRF was able to consult on the basis of the principle of transparency. It is unclear what consequences there will be, but the document states that the result of the inspection will be taken into account when considering future requests from Jordan.
Since such inspections were introduced more than ten years ago, Switzerland has carried out about 70 inspections in 42 countries. They may become less frequent, as parliament has relaxed several aspects of the War Materiel Act. However, a referendum has been successfully launched against the revision. It will therefore be up to the people to vote on the issue, at the earliest in September.
From March 2027, the first residence permits in Switzerland (B permit) will be issued to Ukrainian refugees who came to Switzerland after Russia invaded their country. They will therefore receive the same level of social aid as those with Swiss citizenship, a situation that worries the cantons and municipalities because of the increased costs this is likely to entail.
According to a federal government analysis consulted by newspaper Blick, some 47,000 Ukrainians will be entitled to apply for a B permit next year. Depending on the canton, this is likely to cost a lot.
Vaud, for example, estimates CHF25 million ($31.75 million) in additional annual expenditure, CHF75 million with the end of federal funding as part of the federal government’s savings measures. Aargau expects additional costs of CHF30 million, a figure that could double by 2029.
“We will do everything to avoid these additional costs, in particular by intervening with the federal government in Bern,” the Vaud economics minister, Isabelle Moret, told Swiss public broadcaster RTS. Her proposal is for the government to amend a “simple ordinance” so that the social aid paid to Ukrainian refugees after they have obtained a B permit is the same as that currently paid.
A piece of Switzerland went into space this morning with Smile, the first joint space mission between Europe and China, which took off at 5:52am (Swiss time) from French Guiana. Several components were developed by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) in Brugg, canton Aargau.
An acronym for “Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer”, Smile’s aim is to study the solar wind, the set of charged particles that continually sweep over our planet and influence the Earth’s magnetic field, with possible consequences for telecommunications and orbiting satellites. “Now the most exciting part begins,” says Säm Krucker, who heads the Smile project at FHNW. The satellite will have to collect data in space for three years.
A cooling system for the satellite’s telescope was developed, tested and perfected at the FHNW. The Swiss research team also contributed to the mission software by developing algorithms to improve the image quality of the wide-angle camera. The rocket cover protecting the satellite, on the other hand, was made by the Beyond Gravity company from Emmen in canton Lucerne.
The Swiss people are used to voting on a wide range of issues and may soon be called upon to decide whether to anchor the protection and preservation of pollinating insects in the constitution. A non-partisan alliance today launched the popular initiative “For the preservation of the pollination of cultivated and wild plants by insects” (Bee Initiative).
“It’s a buzz that sustains the world,” said Apisuisse president and vice-president of the Swiss Greens, Samantha Bourgoin, pointing out that in Europe some 84% of crops depend on pollination by insects. “Every third bite we owe to them,” she stressed, explaining that for Swiss agriculture alone, the value of pollination is estimated at up to CHF479 million ($608 per year.
Honeybees, however, are in trouble and have to fight against diseases, pests and invasive species. Almost half of the more than 600 wild bee species in Switzerland are also threatened, while 59 species are considered extinct.
If the text launched today obtains at least 100,000 signatures, the people will have to decide whether to enshrine in the constitution the obligation for the government and the cantons to guarantee the pollination of cultivated and wild plants by insects by providing the necessary resources and financial means.
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