Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
Authorities want to know where every resident of Switzerland lives; tardiness of German trains continues to frustrate the Swiss; and more news in our roundup on Tuesday.
Swiss authorities want to know where you live
The Council of States has approved on Monday a Federal Council project to record the addresses of the entire Swiss population in a national register.
Surprisingly, even though all residents are (or at least should be) registered in their commune of residence, and de-register when they move, correct addresses of some people are missing in the official database.
As a result, administrations are sometimes forced to carry out tedious search, particularly when, for instance, they try to contact an untraceable person for unpaid debts.
“Today, the addresses available in the registers are not uniform and not always current, said MP Mathias Zopfi , explaining why a national register is needed.
READ ALSO: Why you need to tell Swiss authorities where you live
Swiss rail traffic suffers from German delays
In an interview with Germany’s news agency DPA, Peter Füglistaler, head of Switzerland’s Federal Transport Office said “there is frustration” on the Swiss side of the border over delays of trains from Germany.
Therefore, trains that are more than 10 minutes late must now stop at the border and Swiss national rail company, SBB, “runs its own trains from Basel that depart on time.”
READ ALSO: Why Switzerland beats Germany for reliable trains
Fewer social assistance recipients reported in Switzerland
Social assistance rate in the country fell to 2.9 percent — a decline of 0.2 percent, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) reported on Monday.
This decrease was accompanied by a further drop in the number of newly-opened social welfare cases and a simultaneous increase in the number of closed social welfare cases.
One of the primary reasons for this development, according to FSO, is that “sustained economic growth and the favourable situation on the labour market have had a positive effect on social assistance.”
READ ALSO: How applying for social benefits could see your Swiss work permit cancelled
MPs in favour of relaxing war material export rules
Export of arms has been a contentious issue in neutral Switzerland for several years.
But on Monday, the National Council voted to allow the Federal Council some flexibility to export arms in “exceptional circumstances” or if “the safeguarding of the country’s interests in matters of foreign or internal policy requires it.”
The goal of this measure “is to restore flexibility which should make it possible to quickly adapt our war material export policy to changes in the foreign policy context,” MP Jean-Luc Addor explained.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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Swiss authorities want to know where you live
The Council of States has approved on Monday a Federal Council project to record the addresses of the entire Swiss population in a national register.
Surprisingly, even though all residents are (or at least should be) registered in their commune of residence, and de-register when they move, correct addresses of some people are missing in the official database.
As a result, administrations are sometimes forced to carry out tedious search, particularly when, for instance, they try to contact an untraceable person for unpaid debts.
“Today, the addresses available in the registers are not uniform and not always current, said MP Mathias Zopfi , explaining why a national register is needed.
READ ALSO: Why you need to tell Swiss authorities where you live
Swiss rail traffic suffers from German delays
In an interview with Germany’s news agency DPA, Peter Füglistaler, head of Switzerland’s Federal Transport Office said “there is frustration” on the Swiss side of the border over delays of trains from Germany.
Therefore, trains that are more than 10 minutes late must now stop at the border and Swiss national rail company, SBB, “runs its own trains from Basel that depart on time.”
READ ALSO: Why Switzerland beats Germany for reliable trains
Fewer social assistance recipients reported in Switzerland
Social assistance rate in the country fell to 2.9 percent — a decline of 0.2 percent, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) reported on Monday.
This decrease was accompanied by a further drop in the number of newly-opened social welfare cases and a simultaneous increase in the number of closed social welfare cases.
One of the primary reasons for this development, according to FSO, is that “sustained economic growth and the favourable situation on the labour market have had a positive effect on social assistance.”
READ ALSO: How applying for social benefits could see your Swiss work permit cancelled
MPs in favour of relaxing war material export rules
Export of arms has been a contentious issue in neutral Switzerland for several years.
But on Monday, the National Council voted to allow the Federal Council some flexibility to export arms in “exceptional circumstances” or if “the safeguarding of the country’s interests in matters of foreign or internal policy requires it.”
The goal of this measure “is to restore flexibility which should make it possible to quickly adapt our war material export policy to changes in the foreign policy context,” MP Jean-Luc Addor explained.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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