Swiss Politics

Switzerland and EU to begin new round of bilateral negotiations

This content was published on Jul 12, 2000 Deiss and the European Union commissioner for foreign relations, Chris Patten, said expert-level talks would begin in the autumn. Patten re-stated that tax evasion would be high on the agenda. Switzerland, for its part, is seeking new areas for bilateral agreements such as the media, statistics and education, following the ratification of seven accords which…

Swiss Politics

Deiss addresses key issues for Switzerland with EU leaders

This content was published on Jul 11, 2000 Deiss is meeting the EU Commission president, Romano Prodi and the commissioner for foreign relations, Chris Patten, as well as officials responsible for the expansion of the EU and budgetary issues. Patten and the budget commissioner, Michaele Schreyer, are expected to press Switzerland for a new round of talks on fighting fraud. The EU council…

Swiss Politics

Schmid is appointed to boost Soldarity Foundation’s popularity

This content was published on Jul 7, 2000 Schmid will take over the post part-time in September and on a full-time basis from October The 47-year old lawyer and doctor of law is currently head of the city of Zurich’s social services department. In the 1980s he was director of the Swiss Refugee Council. The appointment of the politically-independent Schmid will fill a…

Swiss Politics

Pro Helvetia shies away from radical reform

This content was published on Jul 7, 2000 In what was billed as Pro Helvetia’s biggest potential administrative shake-up since it was created in 1939, its Board of Trustees gave the green light to the “PH 2500” project and rejected the more ambitious “New Beginning” alternative. Reforms to the institution include a restructuring of the board which must be completed by the end…

Swiss Politics

Swiss and European MPs call for speedy ratification of accords with Berne

This content was published on Jul 6, 2000 The statement was issued after a meeting on Thursday between a delegation of Swiss members of parliament and their European counterparts in Strasbourg. They expressed their hope that the 15 national parliaments ratify the accords “without delay” in order to quicken the pace toward implementation. The statement mentions no date, but Swiss parliamentarians privately said…

Swiss Politics

Asylum applications sink to five-year low

This content was published on Jul 6, 2000 A total of 1,177 asylum seekers lodged applications in June, 358 fewer than the previous month. At the same time 7,156 people left Switzerland. Of those, 3,375 were Kosovars returning home as part of the government’s repatriation programme. The figures bring down the total number of asylum seekers in Switzerland to 20,205. Most applications came…

Swiss Politics

Government announces plans to tighten immigration laws

This content was published on Jul 5, 2000 The justice ministry said that, under the new law, non-EU immigrants would be refused entry into Switzerland unless their skills were urgently needed. It said abuse of the current law by a small minority of foreigners made changes necessary. However, it said that restrictions on foreigners already resident in Switzerland should be eased by removing…

Swiss Politics

Government rejects calls for abolition of army

This content was published on Jul 5, 2000 The government was responding to two initiatives put forward by the Group for Switzerland without an Army (GSoA). The first calls for the abolition of the armed forces, the other wants civil service – currently an alternative to military conscription – to be made voluntary. The GSoA put forward the initiatives last September after gathering…

Swiss Politics

Berne and Vienna sign agreement to combat illegal immigration

This content was published on Jul 3, 2000 Under the agreement, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein accept responsibility for preventing illegal immigrants from escaping across their shared borders. In cases where illegal immigrants cross the border, each country has the right to demand that the transit country take the immigrants back before repatriating them to their country of origin. The deal was signed at…

Swiss Politics

Refugee office to speed up Kosovar returns

This content was published on Jul 2, 2000 Large numbers of Kosovars fled their homes during the 1990s after the Serbian authorities cracked down on alleged separatism, with the numbers increasing rapidly in 1998 and 1999 after a large-scale campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Yugoslav province. A spokesman for the refugee office said the cantons had called on the authorities to increase…

Swiss Politics

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Swiss Politics

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Switzerland and EU to begin new round of bilateral negotiations

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Deiss addresses key issues for Switzerland with EU leaders

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Schmid is appointed to boost Soldarity Foundation’s popularity

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Pro Helvetia shies away from radical reform

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Swiss and European MPs call for speedy ratification of accords with Berne

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Asylum applications sink to five-year low

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Government announces plans to tighten immigration laws

More

Government rejects calls for abolition of army

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Berne and Vienna sign agreement to combat illegal immigration

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Refugee office to speed up Kosovar returns

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