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Selected Information
Selected information SNB 120 Selected information 2002 1 Supervisory and executive bodies (as of 1 January 2003) Hansueli Raggenbass, Kesswil, National Councillor, Attorney-at-law, President Bank Council Philippe Pidoux, Lausanne, Attorney-at-law, Vice President (Term of office 1999–2003) Kurt Amsler, Neuhausen am Rheinfall, President of the Verband Schweizerischer Kantonalbanken (association of Swiss cantonal banks) The members elected by Käthi Bangerter, Aarberg, National Councillor, Chairwoman of the Board of Bangerter- the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders are marked Microtechnik AG with an asterisk (*). * Fritz Blaser, Reinach, Chairman of Schweizerischer Arbeitgeberverband (Swiss employers’ association) Pierre Darier, Cologny, partner of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, Banquiers Privés * Hugo Fasel, St Ursen, National Councillor, Chairman of Travail.Suisse Laurent Favarger, Develier, Director of Four électrique Delémont SA Ueli Forster, St Gallen, Chairman of the Swiss Business Federation (economiesuisse), Chairman of the Board of Forster Rohner Ltd * Hansjörg Frei, Mönchaltorf, Chairman of the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA), member of the extended Executive Board of Credit Suisse Financial Services * Brigitta M. Gadient, Chur, National Councillor, partner in a consulting firm for legal, organisational and strategy issues Serge Gaillard, Bolligen, Executive Secretary of the Swiss federation of trade unions Peter Galliker, Altishofen, entrepreneur, President of the Luzerner Kantonalbank Marion Gétaz, Cully, Member of the -
Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
Strasbourg, 2 September 2008 GVT/COM/II(2008)003 ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES COMMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SWITZERLAND ON THE SECOND OPINION OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES BY SWITZERLAND (received on 28 August 2008) GVT/COM/II(2008)003 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities adopted its second opinion on Switzerland at its 31st meeting on 29 February 2008. The opinion was transmitted to the Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Council of Europe on 25 April 2008. Switzerland was then invited to submit its comments up to 25 August 2008. Switzerland is pleased that the Advisory Committee’s delegation, on its official visit to the country from 19 to 21 November 2007, was able to meet numerous representatives of the Federal administration, the cantonal authorities, the minorities themselves and NGOs. It welcomes the fact that during the visit the Advisory Committee was able to obtain, to its satisfaction, all the information needed to assess the situation of the national minorities in the country. In that regard, Switzerland wishes to stress the importance it attaches to the constructive dialogue which has grown up between the Advisory Committee and the Swiss authorities. Switzerland received with great interest the Advisory Committee’s second opinion on Switzerland. The detailed and perceptive findings of the Advisory Committee bear witness to its conscientious scrutiny of the situation of the minorities in Switzerland and its attention to the important issues and difficulties. -
Switzerland in the Second World War
To Our American Friends: Switzerland in the Second World War By Dr. Hans J. Halbheer, CBE Honorary Secretary of the American Swiss Foundation Advisory Council in Switzerland and a Visiting Scholar at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, California Dr. Halbheer wrote the following essay in 1999 to offer a Swiss perspective on some issues of the recent controversy to American friends of Switzerland. In addressing the arguments raised by U.S. critics of the role of Switzerland during the Second World War, I am motivated both by my feelings of friendship towards America and by my Swiss patriotism. For both of these reasons, I feel deeply hurt by both the charges against my country and the vehemence with which they have been expressed. During a recent period of residency at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, one of the leading U.S. think tanks, I sought to present my personal standpoint regarding the lack of understanding about Switzerland’s role during the Second World War in many discussions with Americans both young and old. On these occasions, I emphasized my awareness of the fact that the criticisms of Switzerland came only from a small number of Americans. Despite the settlement reached in August 1998 between the two major Swiss banks (Credit Suisse Group and UBS) and two Jewish organizations (the World Jewish Congress and the World Jewish Restitution Organization), the matter has still not run its course, although it has widely disappeared from the American media. Unfortunately, I must maintain that as a result of the generally negative portrayal of Switzerland over the past few years, the image of Switzerland has suffered. -
Switzerland 4Th Periodical Report
Strasbourg, 15 December 2009 MIN-LANG/PR (2010) 1 EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES Fourth Periodical Report presented to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in accordance with Article 15 of the Charter SWITZERLAND Periodical report relating to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages Fourth report by Switzerland 4 December 2009 SUMMARY OF THE REPORT Switzerland ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (Charter) in 1997. The Charter came into force on 1 April 1998. Article 15 of the Charter requires states to present a report to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the policy and measures adopted by them to implement its provisions. Switzerland‘s first report was submitted to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in September 1999. Since then, Switzerland has submitted reports at three-yearly intervals (December 2002 and May 2006) on developments in the implementation of the Charter, with explanations relating to changes in the language situation in the country, new legal instruments and implementation of the recommendations of the Committee of Ministers and the Council of Europe committee of experts. This document is the fourth periodical report by Switzerland. The report is divided into a preliminary section and three main parts. The preliminary section presents the historical, economic, legal, political and demographic context as it affects the language situation in Switzerland. The main changes since the third report include the enactment of the federal law on national languages and understanding between linguistic communities (Languages Law) (FF 2007 6557) and the new model for teaching the national languages at school (—HarmoS“ intercantonal agreement). -
Fiscal Conservatism and Autonomy Without Much Coordination
Nils Soguel The Swiss cantons: Fiscal conservatism and autonomy without much coordination Working paper de l’IDHEAP 13/2014 Unité de recherche en finances publiques Nils Soguel The Swiss cantons: Fiscal conservatism and autonomy without much coordination Working paper de l’IDHEAP 13/2014 Unité de recherche en finances publiques The Swiss cantons: Fiscal conservatism and autonomy without much coordination Nils Soguel* Institut de hautes études en administration publique-IDHEAP, University of Lausanne, Switzerland May, 2014 Abstract This paper presents the way the Swiss cantons were impacted by the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermaths, and the way they reacted. The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation provides that “the Confederation [central government], the Cantons [sub-central governments] and the Communes [local governments] shall take account of the economic situation in their revenue and expenditure policies (Art.100, al.4)”. Simultaneously, it stipulates that “Cantons are sovereign except to the extent that “their sovereignty is limited by the Federal Constitution” (Art.3). Thus the cantons benefit from far-reaching political, financial and fiscal autonomy. In the past and despite the provision of Art.100, most of them have made use of this autonomy to engage in pro- cyclical fiscal policies. The pro-cyclical behaviour stems from a culture of rather conservative fiscal policy. This culture has indeed been transposed by individual cantons into their own legislation governing their public finance. Most have chosen to legally cap the deficit or even ban that possibility—often referred to as budget constraints—regardless the macroeconomic conditions. This particular institutional setting points towards the difficulty to conduct a consistent macroeconomic policy not only between the different tiers of government, but also between the fiscal and the monetary policies. -
Folder 29 Switzerland
TREASURY DEPARTMENT INTER OFFICE COMMUNICATION DATE TO Miss Hodel March 14, 1944 FROM R. B. Parke ~ubject: Recipien~s in Switz/rland of fu~ds remitted by relief organizations for reliif and evacuation operations in enemw and enemw-occupied territory. / In accordance with your request there are listed below the names and addresses of individuals to whom remittances are made by,relief organizations in this country for relief and evacuation operations in enero.y and enemw-occupied territory: . Address Organization Represented Dr. A. Freudenberg, 41 Avenue de Champel,Geneva, American Committee for Switzerland. · Christian Refugees, Inc. Rene Berthelet, 14 Waserstrasse, Zurich, ~ternational Rescue and Switzerland. Relief Committee. Noel Field, '- ,_ 12 Rue du Vieux College, Unitarian Service Committee. ····Geneva, Switzerland, Saly :Mayer, St. Gallen, Switzerland. J.D.C. Dr. Riegner, , Geneva, Switzerland•. · Vlorld Jewish Congress. Isaac Sternbuch, St. Gallen, Switzerland. Union of Orthodox Rabbis. Dr. B. Tchlenov International Red Cross, Gmeva Jewish Labof Coin.'irl.ttee and/or Dr. L •. Hersh, Professor at the Universi;ty ···- · · ·.· of Geneva. · - - In addition to the foregoing, the Intern~tional.Red Cross, Geneva, Switz~land, was the recipient of the sum of $100,000 from the JDC for the purchase of food and other suppli~ for distribution in Rumania, Croatia, Hungary and· Czechoslovalda. The Greek Legation, Bern, Switzerland;, \Vas ayo the recipient .. of a relat:i._vely small runount, 20,000 t1\v:i,_ss fr_51nc:3Jor the re:LJ._e_!'__E_f ~Cl_rE3ek~pationals >~ held as hostages in Northern Italy. The International Red Cross, Geneva, Switzer land, vms also the pa;yee designc>.ted in a license issti~d to the International Rescue and Relief Conunittee per1nitting it to remit $7,500 monthly for a period of six months for the relief of Spanish refugees_in camps .inSouth Frli.hceo · · r~_-·o_-./-_ ~- R. -
Page 1 of 7 Core Group Wolf Background Information Member State: Switzerland Location: Canton of Bern Large Carnivores: Wolf
Core Group Wolf Background Information Member state: Switzerland Location: Canton of Bern Large carnivores: Wolf Population of large carnivores in the area: After the extermination of wolves in the 19th century, the first wolf returned in 2006 to the Canton of Bern.1 Since then only single wolves passed through the Canton of Bern until in 2016 the first pair of wolves established in the Canton of Bern and Fribourg. Offspring was expected this year. However, the female wolf was found dead on 9 June in the canton of Fribourg. She had been poisoned. There are no signs of the male wolf anymore for the past few months, neither.2 Currently, there are indications of several single wolves in the Canton of Bern. Main conflicts (including e.g. frequency of depredation events etc.): Depredation of livestock, particularly sheep is the main cause of conflict. Although farmers are satisfied with the compensation paid, they are emotionally affected and have more labour if they agree to implement livestock protection measures. As the economy of the Canton of Bern depends heavily on tourism and outdoor activities in the picturesque Alps with their grazing herds of livestock, a concerned part of society fears that a growing population of wolves will put this at risk. There have been incidences of livestock guarding dogs attacking dogs of hikers and frightening hikers. Main conservation issues: Illegal killing of wolves has happened before and it is still a major problem. With the establishment of a new wolf pack, the canton faces new challenges. Low acceptance of wolf by part of the society combined with symbolic and wider social-economic issues also play a major role. -
Local and Regional Democracy in Switzerland
33 SESSION Report CG33(2017)14final 20 October 2017 Local and regional democracy in Switzerland Monitoring Committee Rapporteurs:1 Marc COOLS, Belgium (L, ILDG) Dorin CHIRTOACA, Republic of Moldova (R, EPP/CCE) Recommendation 407 (2017) .................................................................................................................2 Explanatory memorandum .....................................................................................................................5 Summary This particularly positive report is based on the second monitoring visit to Switzerland since the country ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government in 2005. It shows that municipal self- government is particularly deeply rooted in Switzerland. All municipalities possess a wide range of powers and responsibilities and substantial rights of self-government. The financial situation of Swiss municipalities appears generally healthy, with a relatively low debt ratio. Direct-democracy procedures are highly developed at all levels of governance. Furthermore, the rapporteurs very much welcome the Swiss parliament’s decision to authorise the ratification of the Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority. The report draws attention to the need for improved direct involvement of municipalities, especially the large cities, in decision-making procedures and with regard to the question of the sustainability of resources in connection with the needs of municipalities to enable them to discharge their growing responsibilities. Finally, it highlights the importance of determining, through legislation, a framework and arrangements regarding financing for the city of Bern, taking due account of its specific situation. The Congress encourages the authorities to guarantee that the administrative bodies belonging to intermunicipal structures are made up of a minimum percentage of directly elected representatives so as to safeguard their democratic nature. -
On the Way to Becoming a Federal State (1815-1848)
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA General Secretariat GS-FDFA Presence Switzerland On the way to becoming a federal state (1815-1848) In 1815, after their victory over Napoleon, the European powers wanted to partially restore pre-revolutionary conditions. This occurred in Switzerland with the Federal Pact of 1815, which gave the cantons almost full autonomy. The system of ruling cantons and subjects, however, remained abolished. The liberals instituted a series of constitutional reforms to alter these conditions: in the most important cantons in 1830 and subsequently at federal level in 1848. However, the advent of the federal state was preceded by a phase of bitter disputes, coups and Switzerland’s last civil war, the Sonderbund War, in 1847. The Congress of Vienna and the Restoration (1814–1830) At the Congress of Vienna in 1814 and the Treaty of Paris in 1815, the major European powers redefined Europe, and in doing so they were guided by the idea of restoration. They assured Switzerland permanent neutrality and guaranteed that the completeness and inviolability of the extended Swiss territory would be preserved. Caricature from the year 1815: pilgrimage to the Diet in Zurich. Bern (the bear) would like to see its subjects Vaud and Aargau (the monkeys) returned. A man in a Zurich uniform is pointing the way and a Cossack is driving the bear on. © Historical Museum Bern The term “restoration”, after which the entire age was named, came from the Bernese patrician Karl Ludwig von Haller, who laid the ideological foundations for this period in his book “Restoration of the Science of the State” (1816). -
Beyond Work Ethic: Religion, Individual and Political Preference
A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Basten, Christoph Carl; Betz, Frank Working Paper Beyond work ethic: Religion, individual and political preference KOF Working Papers, No. 309 Provided in Cooperation with: KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich Suggested Citation: Basten, Christoph Carl; Betz, Frank (2012) : Beyond work ethic: Religion, individual and political preference, KOF Working Papers, No. 309, ETH Zurich, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, Zurich, http://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-a-007349793 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/80857 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu KOF Working Papers Beyond Work Ethic: Religion, Individual and Political Preference Christoph Basten and Frank Betz No. -
Monetary Policy Assessment of 17 December 2020 Swiss National Bank Maintains Expansionary Monetary Policy
Press release Communications P.O. Box, CH-8022 Zurich Telephone +41 58 631 00 00 [email protected] Zurich, 17 December 2020 Monetary policy assessment of 17 December 2020 Swiss National Bank maintains expansionary monetary policy The coronavirus pandemic is continuing to have a strong adverse effect on the economy. Against this difficult backdrop, the SNB is maintaining its expansionary monetary policy with a view to stabilising economic activity and price developments. The SNB is keeping the SNB policy rate and interest on sight deposits at the SNB at −0.75%. In light of the highly valued Swiss franc, the SNB remains willing to intervene more strongly in the foreign exchange market. In so doing, it takes the overall exchange rate situation into consideration. Furthermore, it is supplying generous amounts of liquidity to the banking system via the SNB COVID-19 refinancing facility. The SNB’s expansionary monetary policy provides favourable financing conditions, counters upward pressure on the Swiss franc, and contributes to an appropriate supply of credit and liquidity to the economy. In the current situation, the inflation outlook remains subject to high uncertainty. The new conditional inflation forecast through to the end of 2021 is slightly lower than in September. This is primarily due to the renewed deterioration in the economic situation as a result of the second wave of the pandemic. In the longer term, the inflation forecast is unchanged from September. The forecast for 2020 is negative (−0.7%). The inflation rate is likely to be higher again next year (0.0%) and slightly positive in 2022 (0.2%). -
Annual Report 2018 Eidgenössische Finanzkontrolle Contrôle Fédéral Des Finances Controllo Federale Delle Finanze Swiss Federal Audit Office
EIDGENÖSSISCHE FINANZKONTROLLE CONTRÔLE FÉDÉRAL DES FINANCES CONTROLLO FEDERALE DELLE FINANZE SWISS FEDERAL AUDIT OFFICE 2018 ANNUAL REPORT BERN | MAY 2019 SWISS FEDERAL AUDIT OFFICE Monbijoustrasse 45 3003 Bern – Switzerland T. +41 58 463 11 11 F. +41 58 453 11 00 [email protected] twitter @EFK_CDF_SFAO WWW.SFAO.ADMIN.CH DIRECTOR’S FOREWORD FROM WHISTLEBLOWING TO PARTICIPATORY AUDITING In 2008, federal employees were not form www.whistleblowing.admin.ch. It is legally required to report the felonies now the IT system that ensures the an- they encountered to the courts. The onymous processing of reports. These experts of GRECO, a Council of Europe reports come from federal employees, anti-corruption body, pointed out this but also from third parties who have wit- shortcoming at that time in their evalu- nessed irregularities. ation report on Switzerland. For the SFAO, processing this infor- To remedy this shortcoming, the Federal mation is not simple. It is necessary to Office of Justice, in close cooperation sift through the information and critic- with the Federal Office of Personnel and ally verify onsite whether it is plausible. the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO), Some reports may actually be intended introduced on 1 January 2011 the new to harm someone. It is then necessary Article 22a of the Federal Personnel to identify the appropriate time to initiate Act and the obligation to report felonies possible criminal proceedings and avoid and misdemeanours prosecuted ex of- obstructing them by alerting the perpe- ficio. This is when whistleblowing was trators of an offence. In any case, noth- launched at the federal administrative ing that could put the whistleblower in level.