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Swiss Politics

Final countdown to Schengen vote begins

This content was published on May 29, 2005 Those for and against have started their final push before next Sunday’s nationwide vote. One issue that provoked strong reactions in the weekend press was the latest series of controversial posters launched last week by the “no” camp, which is headed by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party and the isolationist Campaign for an Independent and…

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Swiss Politics

Swiss disappointed by nuclear-arms conference

This content was published on May 28, 2005 The head of the Swiss delegation, Jürg Streuli, said that the failure was due to an “unholy alliance” between nuclear powers and developing countries. Delegates from 188 nations – including Switzerland – had been meeting at the UN’s headquarters in New York for a month for talks on the NPT. The treaty, signed in 1970,…

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Swiss Politics

Social Democrats want end to conscription

This content was published on May 27, 2005 The centre-left Social Democrats want to see the armed forces cut from 220,000 to 50,000 and more emphasis placed on peacekeeping missions abroad. The Social Democrats said a force comprising 12,000 professional soldiers and 38,000 volunteers would be sufficient to maintain Switzerland’s security. Under the Swiss constitution, every able-bodied man has to serve in the…

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Swiss Politics

Swiss back UN plans for rebuilding nations

This content was published on May 27, 2005 Michael Ambühl, state secretary for foreign affairs, told the UN Security Council on Thursday that the Swiss were in favour of a new body to coordinate peace and reconstruction efforts. Meeting in New York, the Security Council “acknowledged that serious attention to the longer-term process of peacebuilding was critically important, and that adequate support for…

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Swiss Politics

Backing for Schengen/Dublin begins to slide

This content was published on May 25, 2005 But most Swiss are still in favour of adhering to the treaties, according to a fifth and final poll on the issue. It finds that 55 per cent would vote “yes” if the ballot were held today. The poll, carried out for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation by the Bern-based Gfs Institute, also showed that Swiss…

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Swiss Politics

Asylum seekers demand legal status

This content was published on May 24, 2005 They cannot be expelled since their home countries will not take in people who have been forcibly repatriated. The demonstrators waved posters in front of the parliament building in Lausanne saying “We’ve worked in Switzerland for years” and “Our children were born in Switzerland”. At a media conference, representatives of the group – which numbers…

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Swiss Politics

Switzerland turns its gaze beyond the EU

This content was published on May 19, 2005 In a strategy document released on Thursday, the foreign ministry showed more restraint in the issue of development aid, ruling out an increase in the budget. Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said the change of focus was merely a refinement of the current foreign policy strategy. Although the EU was and would remain Switzerland’s most important…

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Swiss Politics

Foreign policy puts business before aid

This content was published on May 19, 2005 Unveiling the new strategy this week, the foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, said the focus in future would be on strengthening ties with countries such as the United States. Development aid spending is to be frozen at its current level of around 0.4 per cent of gross domestic product. Critics say this effectively means Switzerland has…

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Swiss Politics

EU keeps distant eye on Schengen vote

This content was published on May 19, 2005 But observers say this does not mean that Brussels is ignoring the Swiss political debate about how to forge closer ties with the EU. Voters go to the polls on Sunday to decide whether to sign up to the Schengen/Dublin accords governing closer cooperation on crime-fighting and asylum. Opponents of the treaties warn that nothing…

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Swiss Politics

Experts call for integration of foreigners

This content was published on May 19, 2005 This was the main conclusion of a nationwide conference on integration – the first of its kind – attended by Justice Minister Christoph Blocher. Speaking in Biel on Thursday, Blocher said current policies had not succeeded in integrating certain groups of foreigners into Swiss society. But Blocher – who is known for his tough line…

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