Cantons of Bern and Jura pave the way for Moutier’s change of canton
Published: Friday, Nov 24th 2023, 13:40
Updated At: Friday, Nov 24th 2023, 13:43
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On Friday, Bernese Cantonal Councillor Pierre Alain Schnegg and his Jura counterpart Nathalie Barthoulot signed a concordat on the transfer of the canton of Moutier. The two cantons are thus opening a new chapter in their relations, they emphasized.
The concordat lays a good foundation for peaceful, constructive and future-oriented relations. Barthoulot spoke of a "historic day" for the region.
The negotiations initiated ten years ago had achieved their goal. Barthoulet explained that the fact that only a few proposals for changes were received during the consultation process on the Moutier Agreement showed that the two cantons had worked together to find a good solution.
"We regret Moutier's departure," said her Bernese counterpart Schnegg. However, "we can all be proud that we have resolved this issue that has divided the region for so long". This is a peaceful conclusion. With the solution that has been found, the Jura issue will be definitively resolved, Schnegg stated.
Taxes, hospital, schools
The agreement regulates the most important points so that the town of Moutier can transfer from the canton of Bern to the canton of Jura at the beginning of 2026. Among other things, this concerns the distribution of goods, issues of financial equalization and continuity in administration, schools, justice, hospitals and taxes.
The agreement also regulates the adaptation of the municipal law of Moutier and the participation of the population of Moutier in political life in the canton of Jura before the change of canton.
On the Jura side, it leads to the deletion or repeal of Articles 138 and 139 of the Jura cantonal constitution. These passages, known as the "combat articles", state that the canton of Jura can incorporate all areas of the Bernese Jura.
With Moutier's change of canton, the Jura issue has been definitively resolved, Schnegg stated on Friday. The concordat ends all territorial disputes between the two cantons.
The turn of the cantons and the Confederation
The next step is for the two cantonal parliaments to approve the concordat. This will be followed by cantonal votes on the concordat and the repeal of the "combat articles" in the Jura cantonal constitution on September 22, 2024.
Finally, a vote in the Federal Assembly is also required in the fall of 2025. A referendum at national level is not necessary.
Resistance from loyal Berne circles
Despite solemn declarations from the authorities on Friday, the concordat will not go unchallenged. Groups loyal to Bern and various members of the Bernese Jura cantonal parliament have already announced their opposition.
The SVP members of the cantonal parliament from the Bernese Jura will speak out against the concordat when it is discussed in the Bernese cantonal parliament next spring, announced Etienne Klopfenstein, member of the cantonal parliament. With the change of canton for the municipality of Moutier, there are no winners, only losers.
Struggle movements such as Moutier-Résiste, the Force démocratique and the Groupe Sanglier also reject the concordat in its current form. They doubt that the autonomists will renounce all territorial claims in the Bernese Jura.
Decades-old bone of contention
The issue of the Jura has been affecting Switzerland for over a hundred years. The tensions actually date back to the Congress of Vienna in 1815, when seven districts of the diocese of Basel were awarded to the canton of Bern: Pruntrut, Delsberg, Freiberge, Moutier, Courtelary, Neuenstadt and Laufen.
The Jura people see themselves as a linguistic, cultural and religious minority. They also receive little economic and transport-related attention from Bern, which sometimes leads to violent tensions.
The canton of Jura is founded in 1979. It comprises the northern districts, while the southern districts remain with Bern. This continues to be a source of controversy and efforts to unite the southern Bernese districts with the Jura do not falter.
It was not until the mid-1990s that the realization dawned that only a peaceful solution to the Jura issue could serve the region. A long process of rapprochement with many ups and downs began under the aegis of the federal government.
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