Council of States wants to give ETH Domain less money than National Council
Published: Thursday, Sep 12th 2024, 11:50
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The Council of States wants to give the ETH Domain CHF 100 million less than the National Council for the years 2025 to 2028. This was decided when discussing the dispatch on the promotion of education, research and innovation in these years.
Together with EPF Lausanne and the four research institutes Eawag, WSL, Empa and PSI, ETH Zurich forms the ETH Domain, which is managed by the federal government.
If the Council of States has its way, these educational and research institutions will receive a maximum of CHF 11.116 billion between 2025 and 2028 - the amount the Federal Council wanted to make available. At the end of May, the National Council found that this was not enough money when discussing the aforementioned dispatch.
Previously, the Federal Council had cut the expenditure planned for 2025 to 2028 due to the tight federal finances - by CHF 100 million for the ETH Domain. The National Council therefore wants to reverse this cut.
The Federal Council plans to spend a total of CHF 29.2 billion on education, research and innovation over the years mentioned. In May, the National Council decided to increase this budget by a total of CHF 152.2 million. It therefore also wants to provide other institutions with more money than the national government.
Council of States wants to end "Viamia"
The Council of States also voted in favor of phasing out the "Viamia" vocational assessment and advice service for people over 40 launched by the federal government and cantons in 2019 at the end of this year. The federal government should no longer co-finance it.
It adopted a corresponding motion by a group of the Council of States led by Benedikt Würth (center/SG). Specifically, it reduced a payment framework in the federal decree on the financing of vocational education and training by CHF 30 million for the years 2025 to 2028. The Council of States thus created a difference to the National Council, which did not touch the payment framework in question in May.
Würth justified the motion with the statement that career guidance is a cantonal task.
According to the Federal Council, "Viamia" is part of the package of measures adopted by the Federal Council in 2019 to promote the domestic workforce. It has been implemented throughout Switzerland since 2022. The federal government will support the cantons with around eight million francs annually until the end of 2024.
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