Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

Congestion on Switzerland’s motorways worsened sharply in 2025, with traffic jams reaching almost 68,000 hours, around a fifth more than a year earlier, according to figures published by the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO). The country’s busiest motorways—the A1, A2 and A3—accounted for much of the increase. Congestion on the A2 between Basel and Chiasso rose by 31% to 15,740 hours. Around Lake Geneva, traffic jams increased by a more modest 9.2%, although several routes around Geneva experienced much steeper rises. The urban motorway linking Geneva Airport to Perly was among the worst affected, while sections of the A9 towards the…

On June 30, a broad coalition of the Greens, the Socialists, the Green Liberals and several campaign groups launched a referendum against government legislation that would allow the construction of new nuclear power plants in Switzerland. The alliance argues that new reactors would deepen the country’s dependence on nuclear technology, cost billions of francs and slow the expansion of renewable energy. During its summer session Parliament approved the Federal Council’s indirect counter-proposal to the popular initiative Stop the Blackout (“Electricity for everyone at all times”). The legislation would lift the ban on building new nuclear power stations, reversing the prohibition…

Swiss voters will decide four federal measures on November 29, including a proposal to help finance the new 13th monthly payment under the state pension system. The ballot will also cover a revision of the law governing war materiel exports, the Centre Party’s proposal to restore joint taxation for married couples and an initiative to ban most fireworks. The two popular initiatives—one to ban most fireworks and the other to restore joint taxation for married couples—reached the ballot after neither was withdrawn within the statutory period following Parliament’s recommendations during the summer session. The proposal to raise VAT to help…

A signature is a strange thing. It takes a second, commits months, and rests almost entirely on an assumption: that the company named on the contract is real, solvent, and run by the people who claim to run it. Most of the time, that assumption holds. The trouble is that it holds right up until it doesn’t — and by the time a contract turns sour, the cost of having checked nothing has usually already been paid. Running a UK company check before signing is not about suspicion. It is about confirming, in a few minutes, the things a contract…

Swiss voters will decide whether to ban most fireworks after campaigners rejected a parliamentary compromise and insisted on putting their initiative to a nationwide vote, reported RTS. The proposal, launched by animal-welfare organisations, seeks to protect people, animals and the environment from the noise, air pollution and other emissions caused by fireworks. It would prohibit the sale and use of almost all fireworks, while allowing cantons to grant exemptions for major events of regional or national importance. The initiative committee confirmed on Friday that it would not withdraw the proposal after Parliament failed last week to agree on a counter-proposal.…

This week, the Swiss Tenants’ Association submitted a popular initiative aimed at curbing rents after collecting more than 140,000 signatures. The proposal would require rents to be reviewed automatically at regular intervals. If a review found rents to be too high, landlords would be obliged to reduce them. The initiative is backed by an alliance of left-wing parties, trade unions and advocacy groups, including the Socialist Party. The association argues that housing costs have become an unsustainable burden for many households. Nearly 40% of tenants spend more than one-third of their income on rent, it says, making housing the largest…

Alona Shevtsova, CEO of Sends, will moderate a panel at The Blockchain show on 29th June, bringing together experts from entertainment, location-based gaming, and content localisation to examine what it takes to build sustainable gaming ecosystems across emerging markets. The panel, titled “Global Gaming Expansion: Lessons from Untapped Markets,” will structure its discussion across four themes: the growth dynamics reshaping emerging gaming markets; the role of localisation in creating experiences that genuinely connect with new audiences; the infrastructure and communities needed to build gaming ecosystems beyond the game itself; and the lessons and opportunities that will define successful expansion in…

Switzerland is enduring its tenth consecutive day of temperatures above 30°C, placing this June among the hottest on record. The month began cool but turned hot. Temperatures rose sharply from the middle of the month, with much of the country surpassing 30°C on June 16th and 17th. The prolonged heat invites comparisons with the exceptional summers of 2003 and 2018, both of which left lasting marks on the country’s environment and agriculture. The current heat wave already surpasses records in some places. Geneva, Bern, Zurich and Lugano have each recorded ten days above 30°C—already more than during the heat wave…

Switzerland’s electorate is ageing rapidly. New calculations by the liberal think tank Avenir Suisse show that the median age of those who vote in nationwide referendums is now about 60. In other words, half of active voters are older than 60. Since 2000 the median age has risen by seven years. That makes the active electorate increasingly distinct from the broader population. The median age in Switzerland is about 43; among eligible voters it is 53.5. Those who actually cast ballots are more than six years older. Elections and referendums are therefore increasingly decided by people approaching retirement or already…

Food security occupies a special place in Swiss political culture. During the second world war, Switzerland launched the Wahlen Plan, a drive to expand domestic food production in anticipation of a possible blockade. The programme became part of the country’s collective memory and continues to shape debates about agriculture. Advocates of greater self-sufficiency frequently invoke this tradition of preparedness and national resilience. Yet the means matter as much as the ends. Efforts to reconcile higher self-sufficiency with environmental goals have run into political resistance, reports RTS. One proposal seeks to reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint while increasing domestic food production by…