Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

A group of Swiss fruit and vegetable producers has filed a complaint with the country’s competition watchdog, accusing Coop, one of Switzerland’s two dominant supermarket chains, of abusing its market power. The farmers say that a new rebate system imposed by Coop will significantly reduce their revenues. In early April, Coop introduced what it calls a new conditions agreement, which requires suppliers of fruit, vegetables and berries to pay back a portion of their turnover in the form of bonuses to the Basel-based retailer. According to the advocacy group Fair Markets Switzerland, this scheme began in May in the cantons…

Much of Switzerland awoke last Sunday beneath a blanket of smog. The skies have since cleared somewhat, but the air remains far from pristine. The sun’s dim appearance, filtered through a whitish haze, was not initially due to Saharan dust, as many might have assumed. Instead, the culprit was smoke from wildfires that have plagued Canada for several weeks. Fires in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario have prompted evacuations and health alerts across parts of Canada and the United States. When wildfires burn intensely over a wide area, smoke can rise high into the atmosphere. There, the jet…

Climate-related risks in Switzerland are rising, driven by intensifying summer droughts and higher temperatures. That is the stark warning from a new report published on Thursday by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), which assesses the evolving threats posed by climate change in the country through to 2060. Based on scientific literature and consultations with dozens of experts, the report identifies 34 distinct climate risks. Chief among them are those linked to warming temperatures, prolonged dry spells, heavier rainfall, and the disruption of natural ecosystems. Hotter, drier, riskier Periods of extreme heat and heatwaves already pose a significant hazard.…

Switzerland’s benchmark mortgage reference rate, a key figure used to determine rents under existing leases, remained unchanged at 1.5% in June, according to the latest update from the Federal Housing Office (FHO), published on 2 June 2025. The rate was last cut by 25 basis points in March 2025, prompting a wave of rent reduction requests from tenants—eligible to take effect starting in July. Introduced in 2008, the reference rate is calculated based on the average mortgage rates offered by Swiss banks, rounded to the nearest quarter percentage point. It serves as the national standard for adjusting rents in response…

Switzerland’s largest bank has slammed a government plan designed to prevent a repeat of the Credit Suisse collapse—plans that could force UBS to hold billions more in capital. The news was reported by SRF and Bloomberg. This week, Switzerland’s Federal Council unveiled a package of measures aimed at reducing the systemic risks posed by the country’s oversized banking sector. The proposal follows the emergency rescue of Credit Suisse in March 2023, which exposed serious flaws in Switzerland’s regulatory framework and reignited debate over “too big to fail” banks. Key elements of the government’s blueprint include tougher capital requirements, expanded powers…

A group is once again pushing for stricter rules to hold Swiss companies accountable for their human-rights and environmental impacts—both at home and abroad. The proposed initiative would make firms, including their subsidiaries, liable for damage caused throughout their operations. This is the second such effort. A previous attempt, the Corporate Responsibility Initiative, won a popular majority in a 2020 referendum but failed to secure the necessary majority of cantons under Switzerland’s double-majority system. The measure was thus defeated. Undeterred, the Coalition for Corporate Responsibility has returned with a new initiative, which it submitted this week along with more than…

On Wednesday 28 May 2025, at around 3:30 pm, a large portion of the Birch Glacier, estimated at around 3 billion cubic metres, collapsed into the Lötschental valley destroying most of the village of Blatten. The landslide triggered a jolt equivalent to a 3.1 magnitude earthquake. Click here to view a video of the landslide, filmed by Henzen Hans, a local resident who posted the video on Facebook. More videos and images can be viewed here on the SRF website. But what caused the catastrophic landslide? Hans Rudolf Keusen, a veteran Swiss geologist who has been studying the dramatic events…

Switzerland’s naturalisation policy may change after a court ruling this week, reported SRF. On Wednesday, the Federal Supreme Court sided with a Turkish man whose citizenship application had been left in limbo for five years by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) over a traffic offence committed during his application process. SEM had treated the infraction as sufficient grounds to suspend the procedure indefinitely. The court disagreed, insisting that officials must assess applicants more holistically—even those with a criminal record. The decision is likely to reshape the rules on applying for citizenship in Switzerland, according to a public law professor.…

Switzerland’s cantonal vehicle inspection authorities are struggling to keep up with the country’s growing vehicle fleet. As a result, more than 600,000 vehicles currently on Swiss roads have missed their mandatory roadworthiness tests by over a year, according to data from the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), reported RTS. Under Swiss regulations, new vehicles must undergo a technical inspection after five years, followed by a second check three years later, and then biennially. But many cantonal offices are overwhelmed and increasingly unable to meet these deadlines. The backlog has grown steadily in recent years. Nationally, 9.27% of vehicles are over a…

Men and women in Switzerland are far from equal when it comes to health. On average, men die nearly four years before women and are more likely to be overweight. And women are more likely to suffer from chronic illness and depression, according to the 2022 Swiss Health Survey published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week. The disparities stem not only from biology but also from how we live, noted the FSO. Women in Switzerland continue to outlive men—life expectancy at birth is 3.8 years higher—but they spend most of the extra time in poor health—the gap in…