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EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels blunders with wrong Swiss flag

Swiss sensibilities have been affronted by a faux pas committed by the European Commission in Brussels over a false representation of Switzerland’s flag.

Published: 4 February 2015 11:02 CET
Brussels blunders with wrong Swiss flag
Photo: RTS

The EC, the executive branch of the European Union, hoisted a rectangular version of the Swiss flag, which features a white cross on a red background, outside its offices in the Belgian city.

But the official flag, unlike the ensigns of other countries, is square.

A reporter from the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (RTS) spotted the mistake and confronted the EC’s protocol service on Tuesday.

The service immediately recognized the error with a spokesperson saying it was mistaken when it bought the rectangular flag, RTS reported on its website.

Switzerland has a hard time with its flag, given that its is the only one in the world that is square.

During last year’s Olympic Games in Sochi, the wrong (that is to say, a rectangular) Swiss flag was hoisted during the opening ceremonies.

The flag flap in Brussels occurs as Switzerland faces tough negotiations with the EU over its plans to cap immigration, an initiative backed by voters that is at odds with the freedom of movement agreement the Swiss have signed with the 28-country bloc.

Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga met earlier this week with EC President Jean-Claude Juncker to discuss the issue over which the two sides remain far apart.

While no progress was made in the talks, a widely published photo of Juncker enthusiastically kissing Sommaruga verged on being another faux pas, as RTS's Isabelle Ory tweeted:

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TRAVEL NEWS

Why a Swiss-EU deal could be bad news for train users in Switzerland

Switzerland’s rail system is connected with that of neighbouring countries, but that may prove to be a problem in the future depending on the outcome of talks between Switzerland and the EU.

Published: 25 April 2024 18:01 CEST
Why a Swiss-EU deal could be bad news for train users in Switzerland

Bern and Brussels are negotiating various bilateral treaties during the current round of bilateral talks. 

One of the topics under discussion is the inter-connected rail network — which sounds like an overall positive development for seamless cross-border travel.

However, Vincent Ducrot, head of national rail company SBB fears that such a deal would be detrimental to Swiss commuters, because it would mean international trains would have priority over Switzerland’s system.

What is it about?

Currently, priority is given to national traffic on Swiss territory.

But a new deal with the EU would mean that European law — and international train traffic — would take precedence.

The problem is that all the train paths in Switzerland are currently occupied, Ducrot said in an interview with Swiss media on Wednesday.

He cited the example of the Geneva-Paris route, on which several European companies would like to bid. But that would mean that SBB would lose out by having to remove an existing train to accommodate a new foreign one.

And there is more: the question of punctuality

The SBB has long had a problem with trains from Germany, as half of them arrive in Switzerland late, disrupting the carefully coordinated Swiss railway timetable.  

“Another huge concern we have is that the level of punctuality of the international system is totally different from ours,” Ducrot said. “Delays therefore risk being imported into Switzerland.”

To ease the chaos, the SBB has to keep special trains on standby to replace delayed ICE trains on the Basel-Zurich route, and passengers travelling from Germany to Zurich often have to transfer onto Swiss trains in Basel.

“Today, if a German train arrives late in Basel, we stop it and send a [Swiss] reserve train instead,” Ducret said.

“But if we can no longer do this in the future, it would mean that the train in question is accumulating delays, but above all that it is putting the SBB system behind schedule.”

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