Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

The European Commission is reportedly tightening internal security guidance for staff travelling to the United States, placing the country on a par with China, Iran, and other sensitive destinations in terms of data protection, reported SRF. The aim of the EU move is to guard against potential espionage, a reflection of growing mistrust between Washington and Europe. Switzerland, by contrast, is maintaining its current protocols. According to the Financial Times, EU officials are increasingly using disposable burner phones—fresh devices without sensitive information—when visiting the US. Although the Commission denies issuing any such instructions in writing, multiple diplomats say new practices…

From 20 April 2025, Switzerland will be living on energy credit. Domestic resources will have been exhausted for the year, according to the Swiss Energy Foundation (SEF), which marked April 19th as the country’s “energy overshoot day”. After that point, the country relies entirely on imported energy—primarily fossil fuels and nuclear materials—to meet its needs. Switzerland imports 70% of its energy, spending nearly CHF 8 billion a year on net energy imports. In 2023, over 87% of these imports came from EU member states, though the SEF cautions that most of these countries act merely as transit hubs, not producers.…

Switzerland recorded 10 avalanche-related deaths during the 2024–25 winter season, according to the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos—well below the 20-year average of 19 fatalities. The season was also marked by unusually mild temperatures and a lack of snow, especially in eastern parts of the Alps. Between 1 October 2024 and 14 April 2025, a total of 216 people were affected by avalanches, slightly above the long-term average of 205. The SLF registered 172 avalanches involving damage to people or property, of which 156 were triggered by individuals. Only 21 avalanches caused material damage, compared with…

The Citizens’ Assembly, a group of citizens chosen at random to discuss and find common ground on contentious issues, has backed a proposal to introduce a tax on sugary foods and drinks as part of a broader push to improve public health in Switzerland. The measure is one of six reforms endorsed by the 100-member body. The Assembly presented six proposals for reform in the areas of health promotion and prevention, which were negotiated in a five-month long process involving 100 randomly selected people from across Switzerland’s linguistic regions. They reflect the reforms that the population considers particularly urgent in…

Thousands took to the streets of Zurich recently to demand more affordable housing—and to air their frustration with an unlikely target: pension funds, reported SRF. Their complaint is not new but increasingly urgent. Switzerland’s pension funds are major players in the residential property market, owning around 44% of rental apartments nationwide—a sharp increase from just a few years ago. Their investments, demonstrators argue, are helping drive up rents, even as those same returns are used to finance the pensions of the tenants themselves. That, critics say, is the dilemma: your pension is being paid by your rent. The protest brought…

Switzerland is a wealthy nation, but as elsewhere, wealth is not evenly distributed. According to SRF, nearly 400,000 Swiss residents have assets exceeding CHF 1 million. The richest 1% of taxpayers hold 45% of the country’s total wealth, while the bottom 62% own just 3%. The remaining 37% of taxpayers own the remaining 53%. To join the wealthiest 1%, one needs a net worth of more than CHF 5 million. Wealth among the middle 37% ranges from CHF 100,000 to CHF 5 million, while the lowest 62% have assets between zero and CHF 100,000. This concentration of wealth has fiscal…

The holes in Emmental cheese—its most iconic feature—have become less frequent in recent years. High performance modern milking machines have reduced the number of hay particles that traditionally made their way into the milk used for making the cheese. Now, a Swiss court has allowed cheese makers to add hay particles and still comply with strict brand rules, reported RTS. On 2 April 2025, Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court ruled in favour of Emmentaler Switzerland, allowing the addition of hay powder in the production of Emmental AOP, the version of the cheese with protected designation of origin status. Hay particles, a…

Since shifting part of its production to Slovakia in 2023, Toblerone has no longer qualified to claim it is Swiss made. The iconic Matterhorn vanished from its packaging, replaced by a generic peak. Now, its owner, the US multinational Mondelez, plans to reconnect the product with Switzerland, reported SRF. After losing the right in 2023 to label the chocolate bar made in Switzerland with a Matterhorn logo, the triangular chocolate will soon feature the Swiss flag again on most of its packaging. The company says this is intended to reaffirm the brand’s Swiss roots. Whether dropping the Matterhorn was a…

The spring narcissus bloom in Switzerland’s riviera region, a star tourist attraction of the Belle Epoque – the 30 to 40 years before the war in 1914 – was described as the “snow of May” by Ernest Hemingway in his novel A Farewell to Arms. The book is about two lovers who reunite in Switzerland to escape the war. The fields of white flowers allude to peace, renewal and beauty, contrasting the hardship and chaos of war. While the flower bloom is not as plentiful as it once was – the effects of farming, farm chemicals and urbanisation – it…

The 31% tariffs announced by the Trump administration this week, were described by some analysts as like taking a sledgehammer to Swiss trade. Some industries are already eyeing alternative markets to cushion the blow, reported RTS. However, Switzerland’s industry sectors will feel the impact of new American tariffs unevenly. While the pharmaceutical industry has so far escaped largely unscathed, other sectors are more exposed. Watchmakers, for whom the US accounts for around 20% of sales, face a heavy blow. Machinery, precision instruments and electrical equipment could see losses of up to CHF 2 billion. Agri-food exporters, including chocolate and cheese…