Swiss Politics Archives - Page 1152 of 1338

More

Swiss Politics

House votes against punishing Arts Council

This content was published on Dec 13, 2004 The Senate wants to reduce the organisation’s budget by SFr1 million ($880,000) after seeing red over a controversial Swiss exhibition in Paris. On Wednesday the House of Representatives voted for a second time against cutting Pro Helvetia’s annual budget of SFr34 million. This was in direct contrast to the Senate, which has voted in favour…

More

Swiss Politics

Parliament at odds over punishing Arts Council

This content was published on Dec 13, 2004 On Wednesday, the Senate again decided in favour of slashing Pro Helvetia’s budget, meaning that the issue will now have to go in front of a conciliation committee. The Senate has now voted three times to shave SFr1 million ($880,000) off Pro Helvetia’s annual budget of SFr34 million. Senators had argued that an exhibition by…

More

Swiss Politics

Arts Council pays price for exhibition

This content was published on Dec 13, 2004 The decision was taken on Thursday after the Senate rejected a compromise supported by the House of Representatives. The two houses of parliament have been at loggerheads for the past two weeks over the issue of artistic freedom. The row was triggered by an exhibition in Paris by Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn. Entitled “Swiss-Swiss Democracy”,…

More

Swiss Politics

Job fears give Swiss sleepless nights

This content was published on Dec 13, 2004 A Credit Suisse study also found that while concern over health care and pensions had eased, people were increasingly worried about personal safety and the refugee situation. Pessimism about the jobs market has been more or less constant over the past two years. The “worry barometer”, published annually by Switzerland’s second-largest bank, showed that 69…

More

Swiss Politics

New talks centre on Zurich flight restrictions

This content was published on Dec 12, 2004 Negotiations with Berlin have been on hold for more than a year, since Switzerland’s northern neighbour introduced measures aimed at cutting aircraft noise over the border. Leuenberger told the “NZZ am Sonntag” newspaper that contrary to what many politicians believe, the Swiss government has not given up on convincing the Germans to ease their controversial…

More

Swiss Politics

Schengen/Dublin accords remain popular

This content was published on Dec 10, 2004 A survey also shows that a majority of potential voters do not object to differences of opinion within the cabinet on the Schengen/Dublin accords. Sixty-eight per cent of respondents said they would vote in favour of closer security ties between the EU and Switzerland, according to a survey by the GfS Bern polling and research…

More

Swiss Politics

Security costs soar for Euro 2008

This content was published on Dec 10, 2004 European football’s governing body, Uefa, criticised the Swiss earlier this year for failing to allocate sufficient funds to guarantee safety at the tournament. Sports Minister Samuel Schmid said on Friday that the cabinet had agreed that more money was necessary. He added that the government would submit a bill to parliament next year. At a…

More

Swiss Politics

Politicians call for head of arts chief

This content was published on Dec 9, 2004 But Yvette Jaggi has rejected moves to punish Pro Helvetia and defended the right to artistic freedom. The centre-right Christian Democratic Party said Jaggi was ultimately responsible for the exhibition by the renowned Swiss artist, Thomas Hirschhorn. Hirschhorn’s attack against Switzerland’s system of direct democracy and the justice minister, Christoph Blocher, have triggered a public…

More

Swiss Politics

Women’s vigil ends on a high note

This content was published on Dec 9, 2004 The action began on March 8 – International Women’s Day – and drew to a close a year to the day after the December 10 elections that saw just one woman returned to the cabinet. Organiser Yvette Barbier says the vigil has been a resounding success and has reopened a debate on the rights of…

More

Swiss Politics

Parliament accepts EU package

This content was published on Dec 9, 2004 The House of Representatives on Thursday voted through the two remaining agreements on customs fraud and the taxation of EU residents’ savings income in Swiss banks. It follows the approval of six other accords on Wednesday, including the controversial Schengen/Dublin agreement on closer security cooperation. The move was widely expected and follows the endorsement of…

Swiss Politics

Popular Stories

Most Discussed