The initiatives suffer a major setback at the ballot box; Swiss government allocates 334.5 million for the integration of foreigners; and more news in our roundup on Monday.
Both initiatives suffer major setbacks at the polls
Swiss voters have soundly rejected on Sunday the two issues brought to the national ballot box on Sunday – the Neutrality and Food initiatives.
Some 70.1 percent said ‘no’ to the hard-right’s bid to tighten Switzerland’s neutrality, while 72,5 percent turned down the move for more ‘food security.’
With these final results, voters have heeded the government’s recommendations to reject both proposals.
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Government allocates 334.5 million for the integration of foreigners
Believing that more financial resources should be allocated to the integration of foreigners, the Federal Council requested on Friday an appropriation of 334.5 million francs for the 2028–2032 period, up from 250 million for the previous period.
“Successful integration comes at a cost,” the government said.
It pointed out that the lack of integration “costs even more, so it is money well spent.”
That’s because integrated immigrants can work and support themselves financially, reducing the burden on Switzerland’s social services.
READ MORE: Integration of immigrants in Switzerland ‘working very well’
The Federal Council wants to establish ‘clear and transparent’ rules against too-high rents
As a counter-proposal to the ‘Rent Initiative’ – a move instigated by the Swiss Tenants Association, which us seeking an automatic and regular monitoring mechanism to prevent abusive rents – the government presented its own version of the measure.
Concretely, it “aims to establish clear, transparent, and understandable rules for setting rents,” with the objective of deterring abuses, it said in a press release on Friday.
In the Parliament this week:
During this last week of the autumn session, deputies will discuss (among other topics on the agenda) two key issues.
On Wednesday, they will debate an amendment to the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration, which would allow facilitated admission to Swiss labour market of third-country nationals holding a degree from a Swiss university.
And on Friday, the debate will focus on revising the existing legislation so that companies which are majority-owned by the government can no longer relocate jobs abroad.
READ MORE: How can I stay in Switzerland after graduating from a Swiss university?
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