Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

The Citizens’ Assembly, a group of citizens chosen at random to discuss and find common ground on contentious issues, has backed a proposal to introduce a tax on sugary foods and drinks as part of a broader push to improve public health in Switzerland. The measure is one of six reforms endorsed by the 100-member body. The Assembly presented six proposals for reform in the areas of health promotion and prevention, which were negotiated in a five-month long process involving 100 randomly selected people from across Switzerland’s linguistic regions. They reflect the reforms that the population considers particularly urgent in…

Thousands took to the streets of Zurich recently to demand more affordable housing—and to air their frustration with an unlikely target: pension funds, reported SRF. Their complaint is not new but increasingly urgent. Switzerland’s pension funds are major players in the residential property market, owning around 44% of rental apartments nationwide—a sharp increase from just a few years ago. Their investments, demonstrators argue, are helping drive up rents, even as those same returns are used to finance the pensions of the tenants themselves. That, critics say, is the dilemma: your pension is being paid by your rent. The protest brought…

Switzerland is a wealthy nation, but as elsewhere, wealth is not evenly distributed. According to SRF, nearly 400,000 Swiss residents have assets exceeding CHF 1 million. The richest 1% of taxpayers hold 45% of the country’s total wealth, while the bottom 62% own just 3%. The remaining 37% of taxpayers own the remaining 53%. To join the wealthiest 1%, one needs a net worth of more than CHF 5 million. Wealth among the middle 37% ranges from CHF 100,000 to CHF 5 million, while the lowest 62% have assets between zero and CHF 100,000. This concentration of wealth has fiscal…

The holes in Emmental cheese—its most iconic feature—have become less frequent in recent years. High performance modern milking machines have reduced the number of hay particles that traditionally made their way into the milk used for making the cheese. Now, a Swiss court has allowed cheese makers to add hay particles and still comply with strict brand rules, reported RTS. On 2 April 2025, Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court ruled in favour of Emmentaler Switzerland, allowing the addition of hay powder in the production of Emmental AOP, the version of the cheese with protected designation of origin status. Hay particles, a…

Since shifting part of its production to Slovakia in 2023, Toblerone has no longer qualified to claim it is Swiss made. The iconic Matterhorn vanished from its packaging, replaced by a generic peak. Now, its owner, the US multinational Mondelez, plans to reconnect the product with Switzerland, reported SRF. After losing the right in 2023 to label the chocolate bar made in Switzerland with a Matterhorn logo, the triangular chocolate will soon feature the Swiss flag again on most of its packaging. The company says this is intended to reaffirm the brand’s Swiss roots. Whether dropping the Matterhorn was a…

The spring narcissus bloom in Switzerland’s riviera region, a star tourist attraction of the Belle Epoque – the 30 to 40 years before the war in 1914 – was described as the “snow of May” by Ernest Hemingway in his novel A Farewell to Arms. The book is about two lovers who reunite in Switzerland to escape the war. The fields of white flowers allude to peace, renewal and beauty, contrasting the hardship and chaos of war. While the flower bloom is not as plentiful as it once was – the effects of farming, farm chemicals and urbanisation – it…

The 31% tariffs announced by the Trump administration this week, were described by some analysts as like taking a sledgehammer to Swiss trade. Some industries are already eyeing alternative markets to cushion the blow, reported RTS. However, Switzerland’s industry sectors will feel the impact of new American tariffs unevenly. While the pharmaceutical industry has so far escaped largely unscathed, other sectors are more exposed. Watchmakers, for whom the US accounts for around 20% of sales, face a heavy blow. Machinery, precision instruments and electrical equipment could see losses of up to CHF 2 billion. Agri-food exporters, including chocolate and cheese…

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 31% tariff on Swiss goods, the Federal Council has opted for diplomacy over retaliation, it announced on Thursday. It said it will closely examine the measures and their implications but has no immediate plans to introduce countermeasures. The Swiss government expressed concern over the steep tariffs, describing them as particularly punitive. The Federal Council does not endorse the actions of the US administration and will work to clarify any misunderstandings, it said in a statement on Thursday – see press release. The government regrets Washington’s move away from rules-based trade but seeks dialogue…

Switzerland’s Federal Council is seeking to lift the country’s ban on new nuclear power plants. This week, it presented a counter-proposal to the “Stop Blackout” initiative aimed at securing the country’s energy supply, reported RTS. However, many political parties, cantons and energy stakeholders remain unconvinced. Opposition from the Green Party, the Green Liberals and the Socialist Party was expected. Now the Centre party, which had until recently avoided voicing a clear stance, has also come out against the move. In its submission, the party argues that legal changes enabling a return to nuclear energy would contradict the 2017 referendum result,…

This week, modelling published by the Zurich Office for Economic Affairs, shows a significant shortage of workers emerging in the canton by 2050. Within 25 years, Zurich will have tens of thousands of workers less than it needs, despite a growing population. The modelling shows that as more people retire from the workforce than enter it, a gap will open up. According to the authors, immigration will not solve the problem because the shift will be too fast and too significant. In 60 years, birth rates in the canton have dropped from 2.7 to 1.3. By the 2040s, those born…