Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

Drivers using Swiss motorways have until January 31st to buy the motorway vignette for 2026. But the Swiss authorities are urging caution: reports of fraud linked to the electronic version have risen sharply in recent weeks. Unofficial websites are charging inflated prices, sometimes bundling the purchase with hidden subscriptions. Some unwittingly buy a vignette from a non-official site, paying more than the official price of 40 francs. The surcharge might be up to 10 francs more and might come with a sneaky annual auto renewal. Cancellation is typically difficult. Because these sites are not directly issuing the vignette, they need…

The campaign in favour of the initiative has been formally launched. The organisers’ central argument is cost. The proposal, which would cut Switzerland’s radio and television licence fee from CHF 355 per household to CHF 200 a year, will be put to a vote on March 8th. Consumers must be relieved of the financial burden, said Thomas Matter, a National Councillor from the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) and one of the initiative’s leading proponents. He argued that reducing what he called the world’s highest broadcasting fee was justified at a time when households are struggling with rising rents and health-insurance…

In the last decade, finance has not only experienced typical shifts, it has transformed at a pace that would’ve seemed impossible at the start of the century. Central to this change as of late has been artificial intelligence (AI). While applications of the technology continue to evolve and its potential seemingly growing by the minute, AI has already significantly changed the way banks operate, innovate, and serve customers. While many traditional players have finally begun integrating AI to their operations, a select few like Black Banx have long been making the most of what AI has to offer, and…

Tempers are flaring in Bern over how to implement Switzerland’s initiative on nursing care, reported RTS this week. Following a successful vote (approved by 61% of voters) in 2021 to improve life for nurses, Switzerland’s federal government has put forward a package of measures aimed at improving nurses’ working conditions, including shorter hours and better compensation for work on public holidays. But a committee of the National Council has branded the proposals too expensive and wants to water them down. The left accuses the centre-right majority of disregarding the mandate handed down by voters. The text adopted from the vote…

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…