Federal Council to spend 269 million on International Geneva
Keystone-SDA
The Swiss government wants to invest more than a quarter of a billion francs in International Geneva.
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On Friday, the government sent a proposal to parliament to approve a package totaling CHF269 million.
+ Swiss budget cuts pile pressure on International Geneva
The aim is to maintain and strengthen the city’s role as the headquarters of international organisations. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis intends to provide information on the plans at a media conference in Bern.
In the communiqué, the Federal Council explained that in recent months, cuts in contributions or suspension of payments by individual states had led to liquidity bottlenecks at international organisations.
Numerous Geneva-based organisations have been forced to drastically reduce their budgets, cut staff or even consider relocating abroad.
+ Foreign aid cuts: where does Switzerland stand?
In this situation, the Federal Council says it wants to ensure that Geneva remains an attractive location.
The support measures envisaged by the Federal Council include a supplementary credit of CHF21.5 million for the current year. Secondly, the Federal Council is requesting a credit of CHF130.4 million for the years 2026 – 2029. This sum includes CHF21.5 million for the continuation of the urgent measures begun in 2025 in the coming year.
The third pillar of the package concerns the real estate foundation for international organisations. On the one hand, the Federal Council is suspending the repayment of loans for certain organisations for the years 2025 and 2026.
In addition, the Federal Council is requesting an interest-free loan of CHF78 million with a term of 50 years. The money will reportedly be used to renovate a third of its property portfolio.
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Translated from German by DeepL/mga
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