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Swiss Politics

Unions accuse Blocher of provocation

This content was published on Dec 20, 2004 They accused Blocher, whom they branded “an enemy of the workers”, of provocation – a charge denied by the justice ministry. Blocher took stock of his first year as a government minister at the Assembly Hall in the city of Biel in western Switzerland on Monday. The building, which opened in December 1932, was financed…

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Swiss wait for result of Turkey-EU talks

This content was published on Dec 18, 2004 The EU and Turkey agreed on Friday to begin negotiations next year on the Muslim nation joining the Union. The Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, said the government’s position would depend on the results of the entry talks between the EU and Turkey. Switzerland is not a member of the EU. She added that if…

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Swiss Politics

Rightwing launches challenge to EU accords

This content was published on Dec 17, 2004 They are opposed to the Schengen/Dublin treaty on closer security cooperation and an accord on extending an existing labour agreement to the ten new EU member states. In a final reading on Friday, parliament approved both accords, which form part of a second set of nine bilateral treaties signed at a low-key ceremony in Luxembourg…

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Parliament signs off on bilaterals

This content was published on Dec 17, 2004 But rightwing parties have launched campaigns against closer cooperation on security and asylum as well as on opening access to the Swiss labour market. On Friday both houses of parliament signed off on the second set of bilateral accords between Bern and Brussels and on the extension of an existing treaty governing the free movement…

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Swiss Politics

Parliament shelves debate on Social Charter

This content was published on Dec 17, 2004 Parliament has been dragging its feet over ratification ever since Switzerland signed the Council of Europe’s treaty in 1976. The charter, a sister agreement to the European Convention on Human Rights, came into force in 1965 and was renewed in 1996. All countries wishing to ratify the charter are required to accept five of the…

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Swiss Politics

Deiss says consensus government still working

This content was published on Dec 17, 2004 Deiss held the largely ceremonial post during a year in which the controversial rightwing politician Christoph Blocher joined the cabinet and Switzerland signed new bilateral agreements with the European Union. The year was marked by much debate about whether Switzerland’s power-sharing government could be effective with a figure like Blocher in the cabinet. Blocher has…

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Swiss Politics

“Black day for Swiss culture”

This content was published on Dec 16, 2004 Cäsar Menz told swissinfo that the move amounted to state censorship and would harm Switzerland’s image abroad. On Thursday the Senate succeeded in cutting SFr1 million ($880,000) from the budget of the Arts Council of Switzerland, Pro Helvetia, leaving the organisation with SFr33 million for next year. Senators refused to back down despite coming under…

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Swiss Politics

Cantons strike gold

This content was published on Dec 16, 2004 The regional authorities will receive SFr14 billion ($12.25 billion), while the remaining SFr7 billion will go to the federal government. The Senate on Thursday rejected for a second time a proposal by the House of Representatives to put the proceeds into a fund and distribute the annual interest – estimated at SFr500 million. The House…

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Swiss Politics

Most Vaud asylum seekers lose fight to stay

This content was published on Dec 14, 2004 Human-rights group Amnesty International Switzerland has condemned the Federal Refugee Office’s decision as “arbitrary”. Controversy over the fate of the asylum seekers started after 523 people had their residency applications rejected by federal authorities earlier this year. The move caused a public outcry and led to the creation of a working group, made up of…

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Swiss Politics

Tapping the power of the Swiss abroad

This content was published on Dec 14, 2004 One Swiss citizen in ten lives abroad, but Filippo Lombardi claims little is known of this diaspora and its influence. “We lack an overall view of relations between Swiss expatriates and their country of origin,” says Lombardi, who is due to raise the issue in the Senate on Wednesday. He wants the government to prepare…

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