Swiss Politics

Deiss talks tax breaks with major US firm

This content was published on Mar 1, 2005 The Swiss authorities are hoping to persuade the unnamed firm to build a production plant in western Switzerland rather than go abroad. Evelyn Kobelt, spokeswoman for the economics ministry, confirmed a report in Tuesday’s Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that Deiss had met two representatives from the US pharmaceutical group. She said the firm’s representatives had presented their…

Swiss Politics

Gap closes on Swiss-Argentine accords

This content was published on Mar 1, 2005 The announcement comes after a meeting in Buenos Aires on Monday between the Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, and her Argentine counterpart, Rafael Bielsa. Swiss foreign ministry officials in the Argentine capital said the accord on legal aid was close to completion, with only two technical questions left to be resolved. They added that a…

Swiss Politics

Emmen puts citizenship battles to rest

This content was published on Feb 27, 2005 A committee will now oversee applications in the central Swiss town, which has been making headlines since 1999 with voters’ repeated refusals of candidates from the Balkans. More than two thirds of voters accepted the idea of a committee on Sunday. The town is hoping that the decision will improve its reputation, which was tarnished…

Swiss Politics

Cabinet in favour of dual nationality

This content was published on Feb 22, 2005 It also came out against calls by the Greens for a law to streamline the citizenship procedure. In a parliamentary motion tabled last year, Jasmin Hutter, a member of the People’s Party in the House of Representatives, called for the scrapping of dual nationality, which has been legal since 1992. She argued it was not…

Swiss Politics

Army wants more women for missions abroad

This content was published on Feb 22, 2005 Keckeis told a women’s information meeting in the central town of Stans that foreign missions were a sign of Swiss solidarity with other countries. He explained that thanks to women, Swiss army missions abroad had gained a new dimension and quality. “The presence of women in difficult situations can have the effect of reducing tension,”…

Swiss Politics

Swiss community abroad continues to grow

This content was published on Feb 21, 2005 Just over 60 per cent of them live in European Union countries, according to latest statistics by the foreign ministry. Swiss embassies and representative offices abroad have reported that a total of 623,057 expatriates were registered with them, an increase of 1.7 per cent over the previous year. The figure is slightly below the average…

Swiss Politics

Army considers Israeli systems

This content was published on Feb 19, 2005 The purchase, if included in the 2005 procurement budget, would be the first since 2002 from Israeli companies. “Equipment from Israeli sources is among the options we are considering at the moment,” said defence ministry spokesman Martin Bühler, confirming a report in Zurich’s Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. No decision has yet been reached. No details concerning the…

Swiss Politics

MP criticises Commission stance on Switzerland

This content was published on Feb 18, 2005 At the same time, Socialist Herbert Bösch from Austria praised the second set of bilateral accords between Bern and Brussels. The EU parliament in Strasbourg is due to give its blessing to some of the accords on Tuesday. In his position as vice-chairman of the EU parliament’s committee on budgetary control, Bösch has been dealing…

Swiss Politics

Maitre steps down from the political stage

This content was published on Feb 18, 2005 Maitre, a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic party from Geneva, is also giving up his position as a parliamentarian, after doctors discovered that he had a brain tumour. Aged 55, Maitre was elected to chair the House of Representatives for a year on November 29. But he lost consciousness in his Geneva office on…

Swiss Politics

NGOs denounce Information Summit venue

This content was published on Feb 17, 2005 The global gathering is to be held in Tunisia in November, but Swiss civil society groups say Tunis is no place for a summit dealing with freedom of expression. “Tunisia is seen by the western world as relatively liberal and modern,” said Wolf Ludwig, the co-president of Comunica-ch, an umbrella group of Swiss non-governmental organisations…

Swiss Politics

Popular Stories

Most Discussed