Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter supports a vast savings programme to help federal finances out of the red.
Keystone-SDA
In ongoing negotiations over the federal savings plan, the Senate has proposed more extensive reductions to environment and regional transport budgets than those backed by the House of Representatives.
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On Monday the Senate proposed reducing funds allocated to the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) by CHF64.7 million. The cut is still only half of what was planned in the government’s 2027-2029 savings package.
The Senate also decided to maintain pressure on regional transport by proposing a cut of €70 million. The House of Representatives on the other hand voted to spare this budget line.
Parliamentarians also refused to invest more in continuing education. The Senate declined to increase the budget by CHF28.6 million. But it spared the medicine branch.
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Swiss government wants to save CHF2.4 billion in 2027
Agreement on victim support
The Senate meanwhile accepted other changes decided by the House of Representatives. For example, parliamentarians agreed to save the budget earmarked for training staff working with victims of violence.
+ The Swiss welfare state is ‘not about to be dismantled’
The government’s sweeping austerity plan calls for major cuts across most sectors to avert a projected budget shortfall in the coming years. The Federal Council is proposing total savings package of CHF8.5 billion over three years. The Senate reduced this amount to CHF5.5 billion in December. Last week the House of Representatives lowered it further to €5.1 billion.
Further talks will now take place in the House of Representatives.
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Swiss finance expert defends austerity measures
Adapted from French by AI/sb
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