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THE WEEK IN SWITZERLAND

Four big news stories from Switzerland you shouldn’t miss this week

Moves to impose 'immigration tax' on foreigners, and bi-national MPs are under pressure to give up their foreign citizenships. These are among the big news stories in Switzerland this week. Catch up on everything in this weekly roundup.

Published: 29 December 2023 14:00 CET
Four big news stories from Switzerland you shouldn't miss this week
You must dispose of your Christmas tree in an environmentally correct way — like chop it up. Image by Ralph from Pixabay

Moves against dual-national MPs are underway

Currently, 23 members of parliament — that is nearly 10 percent of all deputies — are dual citizens of Switzerland and another country. 

However, some in the parliament have been trying to outlaw bi-nationality in their ranks, arguing that the MPs who have two passports may not be loyal to Switzerland.
 
Dual-citizen MPs are countering that their loyalties are undivided and, furthermore, their work should “be judged by their actions, rather than by their ancestors.”

READ ALSO: Will Swiss MPs no longer be allowed to have dual nationality? 

Some lawmakers want foreigners in Switzerland to pay ‘immigration tax’

MP Andrea Caroni filed a motion in the parliament  asking the Federal Council to look into the feasibility of imposing special tax on foreigners who settle in Switzerland.

The reason behind this move is that immigrants take advantage of the country’s excellent infrastructure and other benefits, all of which have been financed by local population, and should therefore pay for it.

READ ALSO: Could foreigners in Switzerland be forced to pay ‘immigration tax’

Authorities to fight against fake work permits
 
Falsified Swiss work permits — 1,785 were discovered in 2022, though there are likely many more — are raising alarm among immigration officials and MPs alike.

This practice is made possible because many municipalities don’t have adequate equipment to detect the fakes.

Therefore, MP Reto Nause is about to introduce a bill in the parliament aiming to equip municipal authorities with suitable technology allowing to check permits and other documents of foreigners coming to Switzerland.

READ ALSO: Why are fake work permits a problem in Switzerland? 

Several new traffic rules will go into effect in 2024

Among the regulations to be enacted from January 1st are new efficiency classifications for passenger cars; the requirement to pay a penalty for vehicles that exceed a certain CO2 target before they can be registered; as well as a compulsory speedometer for fast e-bikes.

This is in addition to a 4-percent import duty to be imposed on electric vehicles.

READ ALSO: Here are the new Swiss driving laws and rules you need to know for 2024

Also, if you are not sure what to do with your Christmas tree without breaking any regulations, you will find answers here:

READ ALSO: How to properly dispose of a Christmas tree in Switzerland

And if you would like to celebrate New Year’s Eve and Day like the (traditional) Swiss do, this article has plenty of ideas:

READ ALSO: Seven traditional ways the Swiss celebrate the new year
 
 

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For members

THE WEEK IN SWITZERLAND

Six big news stories from Switzerland you need to know about this week

Russia's cyberattacks on Swiss government websites and deadly explosion near Zurich are among the Swiss news The Local reported this week. You can catch up on everything in this weekly roundup.

Published: 14 June 2024 15:00 CEST
Six big news stories from Switzerland you need to know about this week

Government will have to implement measures to cut the cost of health insurance

After Swiss voters rejected two initiatives to curb the price of obligatory health insurance premiums on June 9th, it is now up to the Federal Council and the cantons to step in with their own counter-proposals.

These measures provide for various ways to curb the cost of premiums, including earmarking a portion of public budgets for premium reductions for low-income families, as well as setting up a commission for monitoring costs and quality of health insurance. 

Switzerland’s international schools are most expensive in Europe

Ninety-four schools in 10 Swiss cities are geared specifically to students whose parents are foreign nationals and want their children to get an international education that is recognised abroad more widely than a solely Swiss schooling is — especially outside the EU.

But according to a  new survey carried out by International Schools Database, which researches and compares schools in cities across the world, the cost of tuition and other services at these schools (such as extra-curricular activities, for instance), is higher than in international institutions across Europe.
 
READ ALSO: Why are international schools in Switzerland the most expensive in Europe? 

Russia launches cyberattacks on Swiss government websites

Just as Switzerland is preparing to launch a high-level summit on peace in Ukraine, its websites had been hit by a wave of cyberattacks.

Russia is suspected to be at the origin of these actions.

The government said, however, that these attacks were expected and are presumed to be in connection with the summit. They resulted in minor outages but the operation of the affected units was not significantly affected.

READ ALSO: Swiss government hit by cyberattack ahead of Ukraine peace summit 

Deadly explosion in an underground garage
 
Two people died, and 11 were injured in a town near Zurich when powerful fireworks exploded in the underground car park of an apartment building. 

The incident happened in Nussbaumen, in canton Aargau.

But while the cause of the blast is known, investigators are looking into how exactly the incident occurred.
 
READ ALSO: Two killed after explosions in Swiss underground garage 

Buying property could become less expensive

Thanks to falling mortgage interest rates — due mostly to two key rate cuts still expected from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) — mortgages are now significantly lower than they were at this time in 2023.

Many are now below 2 percent and they are expected to drop further by the beginning of 2025.

This is already the case in the cantons of Bern, Solothurn, Aargau, Schaffhausen, and Thurgau, as well as in certain areas of Vaud, Fribourg, and Valais, where buying a home is also already cheaper than renting.

READ ALSO: Property prices in Switzerland set to become (slightly) more affordable 

And also:
 
Have you caught football fever yet?

It is not dangerous to our health but its cure is straight-forward: you must watch the EURO 2024 games.
 
Whether indoors or outside, there are many opportunities to cheer on the Swiss ‘Nati’ which, depending on the linguistic region where you live could be ‘Hopp Schwiiz,’ ‘Hop Suisse,’ or ‘Hop Svizzera.’

READ ALSO: Where you can watch Euro 2024 in Switzerland 
 
 

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