Swiss family reunification policy to follow European rules

Switzerland should adopt the same family reunification rules as the ones exisitng in the EU, the National Council decided on Monday. 

Under current law, a European citizen who lives in Switzerland and is married to a third-country national, can bring his or her parents-in-law to live in Switzerland. 

However, the same right is not granted to a Swiss man or woman in the same situation.

The bill seeks to put an end to this inequality.

The Council of States will weigh in on this bill next.

Public transport companies must accept cash payments, MPs decide

Fewer and fewer train, bus, and tram stations in Switzerland offer opportunities to purchase tickets with cash, which creates difficulties for a number of commuters, especially the elderly.

On Monday, MPs from both chambers of the parliament decided that users of public transport should be able to pay for their tickets with cash or “another simple means that does not require a mobile phone” as a means of payment. 

Swiss legislation requires that cash payments are accepted without any limitations, MPs said. 

Home ownership could soon become (a bit more) within reach

Properties remain expensive in Switzerland, but that is about to change slightly.

A new report from UBS Bank indicates that falling mortgage rates should make properties a bit more affordable, because by the beginning of 2025, rates are expected to fall by 3 percent.

Property prices are already a bit lower in the cantons of Bern, Solothurn, Aargau, Schaffhausen and Thurgau, as well as parts of  Vaud, Fribourg and Valais, according to UBS.

Russia intensifies cyberattacks on Switzerland

Russian hackers have stepped up their attacks on Switzerland in recent months, aiming to sabotage or, in the very least, disrupt the top-level summit on peace in Ukraine to be held in canton Nidwalden on June 15th and 16th.

According to a study by Dreamlab Technologies, which uses specially created Swiss servers to measure how many cyberattacks are taking place at any given time, the number of Russian attacks has risen significantly.

Normally, a few hundred occur per month. In April, however, their number rose to 1,600, and in May to 4,600.

READ ALSO: Swiss summit on Ukraine set to thrash out path to peace

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