A Swiss government-appointed group of experts has proposed a series of over 60 measures to help federal finances out of the red and save CHF4-5 billion ($4.7-5.9 billion) a year.
Keystone-SDA
The head of the group of experts for the Swiss government's savings proposals sees his work vindicated by recent criticism. The criticism from all camps shows that the proposals are relatively balanced, said Serge Gaillard in an interview with NZZ am Sonntag.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Kritik bestärkt Leiter der Expertengruppe bei den Sparmassnahmen
Original
Gaillard can’t estimate how many of the more than 60 recommendations will actually be implemented. “But it is possible that even better proposals will be put on the table,” said the former head of the Federal Finance Administration in the interview published on Sunday.
He has received criticism from the left and the right, from central cantons and peripheral regions. “You don’t make friends with austerity,” said Gaillard.
The group of experts had reviewed over 300 individual budget items. The good news is: “The federal government is doing a lot of things sensibly, a lot of the expenditure is well justified and effective,” said Gaillard. The proposals also showed that Switzerland could make savings “without the world coming to an end”.
The report on the situation of federal finances presented by a group of experts on Thursday identified potential savings of up to CHF5 billion ($5.9 billion) from 2030.
The centre-right Radical-Liberal Party and right-wing Swiss People’s Party welcomed the proposal, while left-wing parties, the Social Democrats and the Greens rejected it. The Conference of Cantonal Governments warned against prematurely shifting the burden to the cantons.
Round tables with the cantons, political parties and social partners will be convened over the next few days. The next steps are to be determined at the end of September. The government is expected to conduct an ordinary consultation on the defined measures in January. Parliament will then make a decision.
Translated from German by DeepL/jdp
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Should raw milk sales be banned or should consumers decide?
Swiss food regulations do not allow raw milk to be sold for direct consumption. However, a loophole allows 400 raw milk vending machines to do just that.
Swiss safe after shelling of UN headquarters in Lebanon
This content was published on
Israeli forces on Thursday shelled the UNIFIL headquarters in southern Lebanon, injuring two UN soldiers. Swiss military observers
Only 11% of companies in line with Paris Agreement
This content was published on
Only 11 percent of listed companies worldwide are currently operating in line with the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement. This is the conclusion of an analysis by the US financial services provider MSCI.
This content was published on
A committee in Switzerland's senate is pushing for a ban on Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based militia and sworn enemy of Israel.
Personal care products affect indoor air quality, warns Swiss study
This content was published on
A Swiss study claims that typical personal care products can have a ‘significant impact’ on air quality when used in enclosed spaces.
Government estimates for first time Switzerland’s carbon budget up to 2050
This content was published on
The Swiss government predicts that the country will produce around 660 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents for the 2020-2050 period if it meets its climate targets.
Switzerland imposes entry ban on far-right Austrian activist Martin Sellner
This content was published on
Switzerland has imposed an entry ban on the far-right Austrian extremist Martin Sellner. This prevents him from speaking at an event planned by the Swiss Junge Tat far-right group in canton Zurich.
Security firm Sicpa cuts jobs in western Switzerland
This content was published on
Sicpa, a company specialising in security inks, announced on Thursday that it plans to cut up to 120 jobs in canton Vaud, citing a complicated international economic context and geopolitical tensions.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.