Cluster: Swiss Abroad

Expatriates push for e-voting

This content was published on Mar 31, 2007 The request was made at the spring meeting of the governing body of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) in Bern on Saturday, which focused on political participation. The council also demanded that eligible voters abroad receive campaign information from all Swiss political parties ahead of the federal elections on October 21. At the…

Swiss Politics

Swiss urged to stay out of “declining” EU

This content was published on Mar 31, 2007 The best-selling author believes that Europe does not understand the concept of competition and praised Switzerland for “joining the world” instead of becoming an EU member state. The current dispute over the cantonal corporate tax system, which has attracted company headquarters from other European countries, has soured Swiss-EU relations over the past 18 months. Naisbitt,…

Swiss Politics

UN rights body shackled by slick diplomacy

This content was published on Mar 30, 2007 But speaking to swissinfo as the United Nations watchdog ended its fourth session on Friday, Andrew Clapham, a professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, held out hope that progress could be made. Negotiations on how the Geneva-based body will function have now entered the final straight. The 47-strong council, which stems…

Swiss Politics

Women take political control of Geneva

This content was published on Mar 28, 2007 The result has been hailed as a major breakthrough for women in the world of Swiss politics – traditionally a male preserve. Women only got the vote nationwide in 1971. “This event is of symbolic importance. That’s to say it’s the first time the 50 per cent threshold has been broken and parity has been…

Swiss Politics

EU turns down heat in tax dispute with Swiss

This content was published on Mar 26, 2007 Ferrero-Waldner said that while the EU was still determined to convince the Swiss that low taxes for holding companies offered by some cantons violated a free trade agreement, it was prepared to be patient. Speaking in Brussels on Monday, the commissioner said it was time to set the record straight. For Ferrero-Waldner, the tax dispute…

Swiss Politics

Children’s groups call for better rights

This content was published on Mar 26, 2007 Their protest, which was backed by around 400 children, took place in Bern on Monday to mark ten years of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Switzerland. The children symbolically handed over to federal government and cantonal representatives stones engraved with their visions of children’s rights. Child Rights Network Switzerland,…

Swiss Politics

50 years of Swiss mistrust of Europe

This content was published on Mar 25, 2007 Gilles Petitpierre, himself a former parliamentarian, says Switzerland’s view of Europe always has and most probably always will be one of mistrust. The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community (EEC) and laid the foundations for the European Union, which was much expanded by later treaties including the Maastricht agreement of 1992, which paved…

Swiss Politics

Europe marks 50 years – without Switzerland

This content was published on Mar 24, 2007 Even the day after the historic signing on March 25, 1957, Swiss newspapers were caught between enthusiasm and scepticism for the new European Economic Community (EEC). According to historian Georg Kreis, Switzerland even took part in an attempt to sabotage the EEC at the outset, fearful of having such a behemoth on its doorstep. Along…

Swiss Politics

Storm breaks over human rights memorial

This content was published on Mar 23, 2007 The memorial honours French diplomat René Cassin as the “architect” of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but ignores the leading role played by Eleanor Roosevelt and others. This omission has sparked consternation among human rights campaigners who are furious at what they see as a slight to Roosevelt’s legacy. Roosevelt, the wife of United…

Swiss Politics

Union demands introduction of minimum salaries

This content was published on Mar 20, 2007 Union representatives said in Bern on Tuesday that at a time when companies were making record profits and bosses were smiling, employees had received little recognition of their contribution to the success. According to a study carried out by Geneva University, around 670,000 full-time employees, most of them women, were paid less than SFr4,000 per…

Cluster: Swiss Abroad

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Cluster: Swiss Abroad

More

Expatriates push for e-voting

More

Swiss urged to stay out of “declining” EU

More

UN rights body shackled by slick diplomacy

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Women take political control of Geneva

More

EU turns down heat in tax dispute with Swiss

More

Children’s groups call for better rights

More

50 years of Swiss mistrust of Europe

More

Europe marks 50 years – without Switzerland

More

Storm breaks over human rights memorial

More

Union demands introduction of minimum salaries

Popular Stories

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