Cluster: Swiss Abroad

Arts Council tightens belt after budget cut

This content was published on Apr 8, 2005 Half will come at the cost of financing projects and promotion, and the other half by cutting operating expenses. However, Pro Helvetia said it would continue to defend artistic freedom. Speaking in Zurich on Friday, the director of Pro Helvetia, Pius Knüsel, said the organisation would not “lose heart” in its efforts to support artistic…

Swiss Politics

Friend of Switzerland named to key US post

This content was published on Apr 8, 2005 Rob Portman, whose family comes originally from northern Switzerland, could represent Washington in future negotiations with the Swiss side on a Free Trade Agreement. Portman, a well-known Republican from Ohio, is regarded on Capitol Hill as patron of the 29-member Friends of Switzerland Caucus. If the Senate gives the go-ahead to his appointment, Portman will…

Swiss Politics

“No to Schengen/Dublin would be an own goal”

This content was published on Apr 7, 2005 But Michael Ambühl told swissinfo he was confident the electorate would support the Schengen/Dublin accords governing closer cooperation on asylum and crime. Ambühl is second in command at the Swiss foreign ministry and reports directly to Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey. Prior to taking up his post as Switzerland’s top foreign diplomat at the beginning of…

Swiss Politics

Cabinet weighs alternatives to EU membership

This content was published on Apr 7, 2005 Michael Ambühl says the government will weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of this and other options in a report to be compiled over the next two years. In an interview with the SonntagsZeitung, Ambühl said the government wanted to establish a new basis for dealings with the EU following a vote in September on…

Swiss Politics

Swiss to improve response to foreign crises

This content was published on Apr 4, 2005 Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said on Monday that the Asian tsunami and the conflict in Ivory Coast had shown that Swiss reaction to such events needed to be improved. Calmy-Rey said that investigations into the management of these two crises had brought to light a series of “technical problems”. The tidal waves, which swept across…

Swiss Politics

Right attacks government over EU policy

This content was published on Apr 2, 2005 The party president reiterated that the Schengen/Dublin accords on closer security and asylum cooperation would attract criminal foreigners to Switzerland. Delegates meeting in the resort of Interlaken on Saturday approved a resolution demanding that the government formally drop a 1992 request for negotiations with Brussels on Swiss membership of the EU. They said the withdrawal…

Swiss Politics

Calmy-Rey points to growing trade with Turkey

This content was published on Mar 31, 2005 Addressing business leaders in Istanbul on Thursday, she said trade between the two countries could only benefit from Turkey’s closer ties with the European Union. But she warned that Turkish membership of the EU could hamper bilateral relations with Switzerland. Swiss exports to Turkey increased by 17 per cent last year to SFr1.9 billion ($1.60…

Swiss Politics

People to decide on EU accords

This content was published on Mar 31, 2005 Opponents of the accords – led by the rightwing People’s Party – have presented the government with a petition bearing 86,000 signatures, well over the 50,000 needed to force a referendum. Supporters of Schengen/Dublin reacted immediately, with 150 parliamentarians forming a cross-party committee on Thursday to rally popular support for the EU treaties. The announcement…

Swiss Politics

Swiss back Wolfowitz as World Bank chief

This content was published on Mar 30, 2005 After a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday with other European ministers and Wolfowitz, Deiss said he had “a very good feeling” about the nomination. Wolfowitz – the US deputy secretary of defence known as the architect of the Iraq war – was in the Belgian capital on the eve of a World Bank meeting that…

Swiss Politics

Armenia features high in Swiss-Turkish talks

This content was published on Mar 29, 2005 During a visit to Ankara, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and her Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gül, said more research was needed into the issue. “I talked to Mrs Calmy-Rey at length about our point of view on the Armenian question and the historical evolution of this problem,” Gül told a news conference after the discussions.…

Cluster: Swiss Abroad

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

Cluster: Swiss Abroad

More

Arts Council tightens belt after budget cut

More

Friend of Switzerland named to key US post

More

“No to Schengen/Dublin would be an own goal”

More

Cabinet weighs alternatives to EU membership

More

Swiss to improve response to foreign crises

More

Right attacks government over EU policy

More

Calmy-Rey points to growing trade with Turkey

More

People to decide on EU accords

More

Swiss back Wolfowitz as World Bank chief

More

Armenia features high in Swiss-Turkish talks

Popular Stories

Most Discussed