Rapport annuel 2016 concernant la participation de la Suisse au partenariat euro-atlantique et au Partenariat pour la paix

CF - Rapport annuel 2016 concernant la participation de la Suisse au partenariat euro-atlantique et au Partenariat pour la paix
Berne, 22.03.2017 - Lors de sa séance du 22 mars 2017, le Conseil fédéral a adopté le Rapport annuel 2016 concernant la participation de la Suisse au partenariat euro-atlantique et au Partenariat pour la paix.

La Suisse et la France signent un accord visant à assurer l’attractivité de l’aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse

FDFA - La Suisse et la France signent un accord visant à assurer l’attractivité de l’aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse (fr)

Bern, 23.03.2017 - Le conseiller fédéral Didier Burkhalter a signé ce jeudi 23 mars 2017 à Paris un accord intergouvernemental entre la Suisse et la France relatif à la fiscalité applicable à l’aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse (EAP). Cet accord permet d’assurer le développement et l’attractivité de l’aéroport et de donner la sécurité juridique nécessaire aux entreprises qui y sont établies, ce qui correspond à l’objectif que la Suisse s’était fixé.

Switzerland and Pakistan sign double taxation agreement

FDF - Switzerland and Pakistan sign double taxation agreement
Bern, 21.03.2017 - On 21 March 2017 in Islamabad, Switzerland and Pakistan signed a new double taxation agreement (DTA) with respect to taxes on income.

Federal Department of Finance

Swiss refuse action over insults to Turkish president

Latest News - SWI swissinfo.ch

Fr 17.03.2017 08:26

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Switzerland has refused mutual legal assistance to Turkey over alleged insulting remarks made on social media against the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan despite a law against defaming heads of state.  Turkey had lodged four complaints to the Swiss authorities concerning the comments made on social networks against Erdogan. Switzerland rejected the request for assistance in mid-January, Folco Galli, spokesperson for the Federal Office of Justice, told Swiss public television SRF on Thursday.  For legal measures to be taken, the alleged actions must be punishable in both countries.  "If similar criticisms had been expressed in Switzerland against a cabinet minister in the context of a political debate, this would naturally have been tolerated as a free expression of opinion," said Galli.  Switzerland does have a law against defaming a head of state or diplomats.  “Whoever insults a foreign head of state, a member of their government or diplomatic ...

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German coach operator fined for ‘facilitating’ cheap travel

Latest News - SWI swissinfo.ch

Fr 17.03.2017 11:33

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The coach company Flixbus has been fined by the Swiss transport authorities for allowing customers to travel cheaply within the country in violation of laws on international route operators.  On Tuesday, the Federal Office of Transport slapped FlixMobility – the German parent company of Flixbus – with a fine of CHF3,000 ($3,014). It claimed its service from Lyon in France to Constance in Germany was being used by customers to travel within Switzerland at cheap rates.  The route includes stops in Geneva, Bern and Zurich, which opened up the possibility of cut-price domestic intercity travel for CHF20. For comparison, a train ticket to travel from Geneva to Zurich costs a minimum of CHF44.50 (with a half-price rail card).  Currently, it is illegal in Switzerland for a foreign company to transport goods or passengers between locations within the country – a practice known as cabotage.  While Flixbus agreed to pay the fine, it denied that it violated the cabotage rules.

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Nestlé pledges to end illegal seafood in pet food

Nestlé pledges to end illegal seafood in pet food

Latest News - SWI swissinfo.ch

Fr 17.03.2017 15:20

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The Swiss food giant Nestlé has made a commitment to rid itself of suppliers indulging in transshipping – a process where fish catches are moved from one vessel to another to ensure boats remain at sea longer and to conceal cases of overfishing.  A 12-month investigation by the environmental organisation Greenpeace’s Asia branch uncovered transshipping carried out by Thai fishing fleets operating overseas in the Saya de Malha Bank in the Indian Ocean. In Thailand, the illegal catch was used to make fish paste that was converted into pet food sold under the label of Nestlé brand Purina and Fancy Feast.  In December 2016, Nestlé agreed to ban suppliers involved in transshipping across all its pet products.  “It was incredible turning point as it put pressure on other companies in the pet food industry,” Perry Wheeler, Greenpeace Seafood Communications and Outreach Manager, told swissinfo.ch on Friday.  A month after Nestlé’s commitment, competitor Mars – whose pet ...

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Turkish spying allegations examined by Swiss

Turkish spying allegations examined by Swiss

Latest News - SWI swissinfo.ch

So 19.03.2017 13:53

Bereitgestellt in:Latest News - SWI swissinfo.ch

The Federal Prosecutor‘s Office has been asked to investigate suspected spying activities in Switzerland against opponents of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The office on Sunday confirmed that a Senator, Josef Dittli, had filed a complaint against persons unknown for illegal intelligence gathering for a foreign state. An examination of the complaint is underway, the office said. Dittli said there are growing indications that Turkish nationals and Swiss citizens of Turkish origin have been subject to physical aggression and economic boycott. There have also been reports of Turkish informants spying on Swiss university campuses. He accuses the Turkish-Islamic Foundation for Switzerland and the German-based Union of European Turkish Democrats of being behind the spying activities in Switzerland. However, Dittli said his complaint did not cover the issue of freedom of speech of Turkish politicians in Switzerland. Plans for a public event in Switzerland ...

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Swiss security contractors active abroad

Swiss security contractors active abroad

 

Latest News - SWI swissinfo.ch

So 19.03.2017 17:45

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Private Swiss security firms have carried more than 400 missions abroad over the past 18 months according to data from the foreign ministry. About one in five missions was aimed at supporting the local armed forces or police or maintenance of weapons systems, the ministry confirmed on Sunday. Nearly 50% of all cases involve the protection of people or property as well as private detectives. Such mandates outside the Swiss borders have been subject to approval by the foreign ministry since 2015 to prevent human rights violations. The authorities opened a formal procedure in seven of the about 400 requests, two applications were withdrawn and one case is still pending, the ministry said. However, it declined to give further information. Reputation Overall, about 30 private security contractors have been active abroad, notably at Switzerland’s diplomatic representations. The costs to hire private companies are about CHF7 million annually ($7 million). Switzerland ...

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Switzerland campaigns for equal pay at the UN

Women’s economic empowerment is the focus of this year’s session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) that is currently taking place in New York. Switzerland is putting special emphasis on the issue of equal pay.  Despite progress made, Switzerland still has some way to go before it men and women are paid equally. As of today, all countries bar none have a gender pay gap.  According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), women earn 23% less than men worldwide. In Switzerland, women earn on average 18.1% less than their male counterparts.  "This disparity is detrimental not just to women and their families but to society as a whole", the Swiss foreign ministry wrote ahead of the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women.  The Swiss delegation is led by Benno Bättig, secretary general of the foreign ministry and Sylvie Durrer, director of the Federal Office for Gender Equality. Switzerland, together with Iceland and South Africa ...

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MEXICO FILES WTO COMPLAINT AGAINST COSTA RICA OVER RESTRICTIONS ON AVOCADO IMPORTS

MEXICO FILES WTO COMPLAINT AGAINST COSTA RICA OVER RESTRICTIONS ON AVOCADO IMPORTS
On 8 March Mexico notified the WTO Secretariat that it had requested WTO dispute consultations with Costa Rica regarding certain measures imposed by Costa Rica that allegedly restrict or prohibit the import of fresh avocados from Mexico, as well as the alleged failure by Costa Rica to implement, or recognize in its internal regulations, certain obligations contained in the WTO’s Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement).
> News item: https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news17_e/ds524rfc_08mar17_e.htm

UN expert calls on Swiss to maintain funding

The Swiss government is facing calls by the United Nations special rapporteur on torture to boost its financial support for the independent mandate. Nils Melzer, a Swiss national appointed to the post last year by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, urged the foreign ministry to help ensure the financing. He said the government had no legal obligation to fund the post, but the decision would undermine Switzerland’s credibility in its fight against torture worldwide and Geneva’s image as “capital of human rights” if his office suffered from a lack of financing. The foreign ministry in December announced it would stop funding the post of assistant to the rapporteur due to spending cuts decided by parliament last year. The Swiss government contribution – CHF120,000 ($119,000) annually – formally pays towards a chair at Geneva’s Academy for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Melzer said he could try to find funding from private sponsors, but this ...

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Libre circulation - lutte contre les abus - travailleurs détachés

Le Conseil fédéral fait entrer en vigueur des dispositions sur un nouveau renforcement de la lutte contre les abus
Berne, 16.03.2017 - Au cours des années passées, les mesures contre les abus sur le marché du travail ont été constamment renforcées et leur mise en œuvre a été améliorée. Le Conseil fédéral entend à présent faire entrer en vigueur des dispositions permettant un nouveau renforcement de la lutte contre les abus. Ainsi, une modification de la loi sur les travailleurs détachés (LDét), qui durcit les sanctions administratives et règle les conditions de prorogation des contrats-type de travail (CTT) prévoyant des salaires minimaux, prendra effet le 1er avril 2017.