Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

Switzerland’s long-mooted trade negotiations with the United States can now proceed. On Wednesday the Federal Council approved the final negotiating mandate for a tariff agreement, clearing the way for formal talks with Washington, reported RTS. Parliamentary foreign-affairs committees and the cantons were consulted in advance. On the basis of their feedback, the government made modest clarifications, it said. Should negotiations stray beyond the scope of the mandate—by adding new areas or themes—the parliamentary committees and the cantons, via the Conference of Cantonal Governments, will be consulted again rather than merely informed. The mandate builds on a declaration of intent signed…

On March 8th Swiss voters—and the cantons—will be asked to decide the fate of cash. On the ballot are a popular initiative, Cash is Freedom, and a direct counter-proposal backed by the federal government and parliament. Both aim to entrench the role of physical money in the constitution, but they go about it in different ways. The initiative would require the federal government to guarantee the availability of cash across Switzerland and to submit any replacement of the Swiss franc with another currency to approval by both voters and cantons. Its sponsors argue that cash safeguards freedom of choice in…

The cost of inaction is enormous, says the committee behind Switzerland’s proposed climate fund. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, its members urged voters to back the initiative on March 8th, arguing that it is essential to protect future generations. Alpine Switzerland is particularly exposed to the effects of climate change, according to the sponsors of the proposal, led by the Socialist and Green parties. They are joined by the Evangelical People’s Party (PEV/EVP), the Young Green Liberals, trade unions and some climate scientists from Switzerland’s federal institutes of technology. Although voters have endorsed the goal of net-zero emissions…

Left-wing parties in Switzerland’s largest cities are trying to revive international night trains—by leaning on the federal government and, if need be, filling the gap themselves. This week, socialist and Green politicians are tabling motions in Geneva and Lausanne, as part of a coordinated push with Zurich, Basel and Bern, reported RTS. The aim is to press local governments to support cross-border rail services—and to urge the Confederation to resume funding it has withdrawn. Proponents argue that cities should explore interim financing for night trains and for daytime international routes departing from Switzerland, while reminding Bern of its obligations under…

In Switzerland the fuel used by piste groomers to prepare ski slopes is cheaper than that used by most other vehicles. The reason is a refund of the mineral oil tax—a levy that, in practice, does not apply to machines that operate off public roads. The arrangement has drawn the ire of the Green Liberal Party (GLP), which wants it scrapped, according to RTS. The same tax relief applies to agricultural and forestry vehicles. Much of the roughly 80 centimes a litre fuel tax is earmarked for building and maintaining roads—an infrastructure that piste groomers and farm machinery rarely use.…

Moutier celebrated its transfer from the canton of Bern to Jura at the end of 2025, in a ceremony that underlined the historic nature of the change. Marcel Winistoerfer, the town’s mayor, told around 300 people gathered outside the town hall that, half a century after the founding of the canton, Moutier will now join Jura and rediscover its natural home, reported SRF. Residents, he said, would experience intense and extraordinary emotions as a new chapter was added to the country’s history. Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, herself from Jura, attended privately. The celebrations included a banquet for 1,200 guests, a…

20 Minutes, Switzerland’s free commuter newspaper, appeared in print for the last time on Tuesday, ending a 26-year run, reported the newspaper. Its publisher, TX Group, had announced the decision in the summer. The closure also consigns to history the blue distribution boxes that once stood at railway stations and tram stops across the country. The paper marked the occasion with a special farewell edition, distributed in German-, French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland. The issue looked back on the publication’s own history. Some of the trademark blue boxes, readers were told, will live on in museum collections. Launched in December 1999,…

Lawmakers from the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) have tabled a motion to tighten language requirements for naturalisation, reports RTS. They want applicants for a Swiss passport to demonstrate B2 oral and B1 written competence in one of the national languages — a higher bar than at present. Under current federal rules, candidates must be able to manage everyday communication: B1 in speaking and listening and A2 in reading and writing, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This allows routine spoken interaction and simple written communication. The UDC/SVP argues that this is not enough. Jean-Luc Addor, the…

Swiss voters will be asked to decide whether the country should accede to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, according to the government. On 23 December 2025, The Alliance for a Nuclear Weapons Ban submitted 135,000 signatures to the Federal Chancellery, enough to trigger a nationwide vote. The initiative is backed by the Socialist Party, the Greens, the Evangelical People’s Party and a range of civil-society groups, including the Group for a Switzerland without an Army (GSoA), Greenpeace, Terre des Hommes and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. The signatures, said Noemi Buzzi of GSoA, send…

Donald Trump has announced a deal with several large pharmaceutical firms, including Switzerland’s Novartis and Genentech, a subsidiary of Roche, reported SRF. The agreement, unveiled at the White House, is intended to lower the prices of selected medicines in the United States and to allow drugmakers to sell them directly to consumers online. In exchange, participating companies will receive three years of duty-free treatment for imported pharmaceuticals. Executives from several firms attended the announcement, including Novartis’s chief executive, Vasant Narasimhan. For Roche and Novartis, the deal brings an end to months of uncertainty over the future pricing and tariff regime…