Swiss Politics

Business federation says free movement vital

This content was published on May 18, 2011 Yet for the business federation, economiesuisse, free movement remains essential.swissinfo.ch spoke to the head of the business federation in French-speaking Switzerland, Cristina Gaggini, about some of the arguments often used against the accord with the European Union. swissinfo.ch: Among the arguments used against free movement is that of the quality of economic growth. The [rightwing]…

Swiss Politics

Parliamentarian cleared of electoral fraud

This content was published on May 18, 2011 The Bern Supreme Court on Wednesday said there was no evidence that the defendant, Ricardo Lumengo, filled out more than 40 ballot sheets with his name in an effort to win a seat in the cantonal assembly in 2006. The verdict overturns a ruling by a lower court last November which handed down a suspended…

Swiss Politics

Cantons battle to save rich tax

This content was published on May 18, 2011 Anxious to avoid the fate of Zurich, that saw lump-sum taxes abolished in a public vote in 2009, other cantons are promising that they will charge rich foreign residents more, and exclude many current beneficiaries in future. The tactic worked in canton Thurgau last weekend, where voters rejected an initiative to abolish lump-sum taxation. Instead,…

Swiss Politics

Court rejects asylum for ex-Guantanamo prisoner

This content was published on May 18, 2011 The supreme court announced the ethnic Uighur could not sufficiently justify his request since he has been living in the Pacific island of Palau since his release from the United States detention camp on Cuba. The man had made an application for asylum in Switzerland in 2008, which was rejected by the Federal Migration Office,…

Swiss Politics

Switzerland to freeze Syrian assets

This content was published on May 18, 2011 The sanctions, which come into force on May 19, bring Switzerland into line with European Union sanctions in place since May 9. The 13 individuals are also subject to a travel ban. These restrictive measures have been decreed, a government statement said, in response to almost two months of violent repression meted out by the…

Swiss Politics

Cameroon aims to win Swiss investors

This content was published on May 18, 2011 Bilateral trade is still quite modest, but two Swiss companies active in the central African country discovered the market potential in the region. “Cameroon wants to become an emerging country. We might not be a big player but we aim to copy the model of Switzerland,” said Economics Minister Louis Paul Motaze during an event…

Swiss Politics

EU agrees to protect Swiss cheese

This content was published on May 17, 2011 Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann was in Brussels on Tuesday to sign the agreement alongside European commissioner Dacian Ciolos. The accord aims to protect the geographical origins and local production of around 20 Swiss products such as raclette and gruyère cheeses, as well as around 800 EU agricultural products. It is an addition to a first…

Swiss Politics

What price a future without nuclear energy?

This content was published on May 17, 2011 Five francs a year – that would be the cost to Swiss families of quitting nuclear power, according to a coalition of environmental organisations. The group says giving up atomic energy – which accounts for 40 per cent of Swiss electricity supply – and changing to a new system based on green energies would be…

Swiss Politics

Petition puts pressure on radio and TV fees

This content was published on May 17, 2011 Campaigners, led by a rightwing Swiss People’s Party parliamentarian, said they collected more than 140,000 signatures, mostly online. The non-binding petition aims to put pressure on parliament and the government to cut the licence fee to SFr200 ($226) from SFr462. They argue that the publicly-owned Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, which includes swissinfo.ch, produces too many programmes…

Swiss Politics

Swiss back ICC attempts to arrest Gaddafi

This content was published on May 16, 2011 Those responsible for the attacks against the Libyan population must be taken to court according to a statement by the foreign ministry released on Monday. Switzerland was cooperating with the ICC to punish those found guilty of committing major crimes, it added. The statement came shortly after the ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said Gaddafi, his…

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