Populist arty claims foreign children diminish the level of education in Swiss schools, and MPs debate introducing a transit fee for foreign drivers — these are among the Swiss news that The Local reported this week. You can catch up on everything in this weekly roundup.
Party claims foreign children diminish the level of education in Swiss schools
According to Katja Riem, a deputy from the Swiss People’s Party, “uncontrolled immigration is having negative impact on our schools: more and more children don’t speak a Swiss national language, teachers are overwhelmed, and educational standards are declining.”
Others, however, point out that this argument is flawed.
They point out that while children with migrant background present some challenges, overall, foreign students do not diminish the quality of the Swiss school system.
READ MORE: Do foreign children ‘have a negative impact’ on standard of Swiss schools?
MPs debate introducing a transit fee for foreign drivers
After discussing it for months, this measure has now been approved by the relevant committees of both the Council of States and National Council.
Specifically, its aim is to reduce peak traffic on the national road network with a traffic-dependent transit fee.
In the meantime, the Federal Council, sees problems in implementing this measure because a transit tax would necessitate extensive monitoring of all border crossings, as well as creation of legal basis for it in the constitution.
READ MORE: Switzerland’s transit tax for foreign drivers moves one step closer to reality
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What effect will anti-immigration proposal have on resident foreigners?
The right-wing initiative to curb the number of EU immigrants is raising questions about what would happen to foreigners who already live in Switzerland if this measure wins the majority of votes – in other words, would they have to leave the country?
The initiative targets only the citizens of the EU/EFTA who would want to immigrate to Switzerland after the 10-million population mark is reached, and not those who are already living legally in Switzerland, either on a B or C permit, or those who may still immigrate from those countries until the cut-off threshold.
READ MORE: How will you be affected if Switzerland’s anti-immigration proposal wins?
Foreign national ‘wins’ citizenship due to ‘arbitrary’ questions
An applicant for Swiss citizenship has won a court battle against his commune’s refusal of naturalisation after judges ruled that many of the questions he was asked were “inadmissible.”
According to the court, the naturalisation commission in the town of Birr, in the canton of Argau, where the applicant has lived since 1996, had asked him, “numerous arbitrary questions” in his citizenship test that should not have been asked as part of the naturalisation process.
The court has referred the case back to the municipal council with the clear instruction to grant the man, a Kosovo national, his Swiss citizenship, saying he fulfils all the legal requirements.
READ MORE: Court rules foreigner denied Swiss citizenship over ‘inadmissible’ test questions
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Police scams are spreading through Switzerland
Scams perpetrated by individuals and groups impersonating Swiss police officers and other law enforcement agencies are on the rise in many regions of the country.
Over 41,000 attempted frauds of this type were reported to the authorities in 2024 – the last year for which official data is available.
This scam, in which victims are pressured to disclose their financial information, is widespread in all regions of Switzerland.
READ MORE: Public warned as fake Swiss police scam plagues Switzerland
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Switzerland braces for more extreme weather
The climate crisis is hitting Switzerland particularly hard, and the situation will deteriorate further, a government study reveals.
According to the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSchweiz), climate warming is proceeding twice as fast in Switzerland as the global average, due, among other factors, to its landlocked location.
For the future, meteorologists forecast more extreme heat, drier summers, more droughts, intense precipitations, and less snow.
READ MORE: Switzerland to experience more ‘extreme heat and droughts’
