National Council and Council of States have been evacuated on a trial basis
Published: Wednesday, Mar 6th 2024, 13:40
Updated At: Wednesday, Mar 6th 2024, 13:40
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On Wednesday, shortly before the end of the morning sessions, all members of the National Council and Council of States had to leave the parliament building in Bern. The Federal Palace was evacuated for training purposes.
The exercise was announced in the run-up to the spring session. It was a planned exercise under session conditions, as the parliamentary services wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The National Council interrupted its marathon debate on the Customs Act at 12.41 pm. Council President Eric Nussbaumer (SP/BL) instructed the Council members to leave the Federal Palace immediately and gather at the assembly point in the Holy Trinity Church. The exercise was "no fun", but necessary to test the procedures in the event of an emergency.
Council of States President Eva Herzog (SP/BS) called the Council members back into the chamber at the same time and then asked them to make their way to the assembly point at the Holy Trinity Church "without undue haste". The exercise would take about a quarter of an hour.
"It's about knowing how to leave the parliament building in an emergency and where the assembly point is," said Herzog. During the exercise, helpers in fluorescent vests showed the members of parliament the way.
Just over a year ago, the Federal Palace was evacuated due to a suspicious man with traces of explosives on his clothing. Afterwards, the action was criticized - for example, that there had been congestion at the doors to the outside. Brigitte Häberli-Koller (center/TG), then President of the Council of States, was forgotten during the evacuation.
The parliamentary services then drew conclusions: they decided to use the parliament building's alarm horns in the event of an evacuation in future. Members of parliament would also be informed quickly via SMS. There was a test alarm via text message last June.
On the street between the Federal Palace and the Holy Trinity Church, FDP National Councillor Christian Wasserfallen from Bern said on inquiry that he had received such an alarm text message. It was an evacuation drill, he read on the cell phone.
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