Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

Parliament has approved two Liberal Democrat (PLR/FDP) motions aimed at tightening Switzerland’s asylum regime, reported RTS. The first seeks to encourage the voluntary departure of asylum seekers. The Council of States silently endorsed a National Council motion instructing the Federal Council to introduce a system of targeted incentives and clearly defined sanctions. One element would be to process the asylum claims of convicted applicants while they are serving their sentences. Ideally, says Christian Wasserfallen, the Liberal Democrat who tabled the motion, such cases should be handled within ten days, giving applicants clarity on their status upon release. Supporters argue that…

Switzerland’s parliament has pulled the plug on funding for a planned night train linking Basel with Malmö in southern Sweden, reported RTS. After the Council of States rejected the proposal, the National Council followed suit on Tuesday, striking the CHF 10m needed to launch the service from the 2026 budget. The margin was narrow: 99 votes to 92, with two abstentions. Opponents said taxpayers should not underwrite what they saw as a leisure route. Yvan Pahud of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) argued that subsidising such a line was unacceptable, while Alex Farinelli of the Liberal Democrats (PLR/FDP) said the…

Switzerland’s parliament has voted to make it harder for dual nationals to sidestep the country’s military obligations, reported RTS. On Wednesday the National Council adopted, in amended form, a motion already approved by the upper house. It will now return to the Council of States, Switzerland’s parliament, for further consideration. The original proposal, put forward by Mauro Poggia, a Geneva lawmaker, was aimed chiefly at Franco-Swiss citizens. Under current arrangements, some are able to to attend a one-day session in France in place of Swiss military service. Parliament has gone further, however, extending the principle to all Swiss dual nationals.…

Immigrants are more successfully integrated into Switzerland’s labour market than in most other rich countries, according to a study commissioned by the State Secretariat for Migration. At 77%, the employment rate among immigrants in Switzerland is well above the OECD average across its 38 member states, which include Germany, France, Britain and the United States. That figure is all the more striking given Switzerland’s unusually high level of immigration. More than 31% of its population was born abroad—one of the highest shares in the OECD, second in Europe only to Luxembourg. Roughly three-quarters of these migrants arrived under the EU’s…

Switzerland’s government is weighing a rise in value-added tax to help fund a rapid expansion of the armed forces, reported RTS. According to the Tages-Anzeiger, the proposal—an increase of 0.5 percentage points—was floated by Martin Pfister, the defence minister, amid growing anxiety about Europe’s security and the risk of further Russian aggression. Pfister argues that Switzerland must rebuild its military capacity faster than planned. At a cabinet meeting on security last week, he reportedly warned that Russia could mount a new attack somewhere in Europe as early as 2028 or 2029. A VAT increase, he believes, could provide a stable…

A campaign to ban the Islamic headscarf from all public schools has resurfaced in Switzerland, pushing a local controversy onto the national stage. On Monday a right-leaning group linked to the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) submitted a petition in Bern bearing 12,000 signatures, reported RTS. The petition follows a heated debate that began last summer in the German-speaking part of the country. The row started in Eschenbach, a town of about 10,000 people in the canton of St Gallen. A Muslim woman seeking to teach at a local primary school was denied a post because she wore a headscarf, after…

On 30 November 2025 the Swiss electorate decisively rejected two headline proposals: a sweeping federal inheritance and gift tax for the super-rich, and a scheme to make civic service mandatory for all citizens. The inheritance-tax measure — a 50% levy on estates and gifts above CHF 50 million — was turned down by 78% of voters and failed to find a majority in any canton. The proposal to extend compulsory national service (military, civil or social) to everyone, including women, fared even worse: it was rejected by about 84% of participants, losing in every canton. Turnout for both votes was…

The median full-time salary in Switzerland rose to CHF 7,024 (US$8,780) a month in 2024, up 3.5% from CHF 6,788 two years earlier, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Despite nominal gains, the overall shape of the country’s wage pyramid has changed little since 2008. The bottom 10% of earners took home less than CHF 4,635 a month, while the top decile earned over CHF 12,526. Though pay inequality has remained broadly stable, the lowest-paid workers have seen the strongest cumulative wage growth since 2008, while the middle class has lagged behind. Pay gaps between sectors remain stark. High value-added…

Swiss business and farming groups are stepping up calls for a rollback of red tape, warning that an expanding regulatory burden is stifling productivity just as labour shortages intensify. They are urging the Federal Council and parliament to act before the end of the current legislative term. At a press conference in Bern, economiesuisse, the Swiss Employers’ Association, the SME federation and the farmers’ union argued that administrative costs have become a serious brake on growth. A new study by BSS Volkswirtschaftliche Beratung and Germany’s ifo institute estimates that more than CHF 30bn a year could be saved if administrative…

Two Swiss Green Party lawmakers have filed a criminal complaint for suspected corruption against a group of Swiss business leaders who presented luxury gifts—including a Rolex clock and a one-kilogram gold bar—to Donald Trump during recent trade talks in Washington, reported RTS. The complaint, submitted to the federal prosecutor by Raphaël Mahaim and Greta Gysin, asks whether the executives may have breached Swiss criminal law by attempting to influence a foreign public official. The gifts were reportedly offered in early November 2025 during discussions on US tariffs imposed on Swiss exports. Among the firms represented were Rolex, Richemont and MSC.…