Parliament has finalized eleven bills
Published: Friday, Dec 22nd 2023, 09:10
العودة إلى البث المباشر
With the final votes on Friday, the Federal Assembly concluded the winter session, the first of the new legislative period. Eleven bills have been approved by parliament:
- by 141 votes to 42 with 15 abstentions (National Council) and 41 votes to 3 with 0 abstentions (Council of States) on the "Uniform financing of outpatient and inpatient care" (Efas) bill. The aim of the monism bill is to finance outpatient and inpatient healthcare services from a single source in future;
- by 124 votes to 72 with 2 abstentions (National Council) and 33 votes to 12 with 0 abstentions (Council of States) the federal decree with which the Federal Assembly recommends that the popular initiative "For the future of our nature and landscape (biodiversity initiative)" be rejected at the ballot box;
- by 132 votes to 65 with 1 abstention (National Council) and 37 votes to 6 with 2 abstentions (Council of States) the federal decree with which Parliament recommends a "No" to the conditionally withdrawn popular initiative "Against the development of our landscape (landscape initiative)" at the ballot box. The referendum deadline for the indirect parliamentary counter-proposal, the revised Spatial Planning Act, runs until mid-February;
- by 132 votes to 64 with 2 abstentions (National Council) and 39 votes to 6 with 0 abstentions (Council of States) the investment protection agreement between Switzerland and Indonesia. Compared to previous agreements, it restricts the discretionary powers of arbitration tribunals in disputes;
- by 198 votes to 0 with 0 abstentions (National Council) and 44 votes to 0 with 0 abstentions (Council of States) the Act on the Introduction of a Simplified Procedure for the Destruction of Small Consignments in Intellectual Property Law, which is intended to facilitate the fight against product piracy;
- by 138 votes to 52 with 8 abstentions (National Council) and 38 votes to 2 with 5 abstentions (Council of States) the amended double taxation agreement with the United Arab Emirates;
- by 131 votes to 67 with 0 abstentions (National Council) and 39 votes to 5 with 1 abstention (Council of States) on amendments to the Private International Law Act. This concerns new legal regulations for cross-border inheritance cases;
- by 197 votes to 0 with 0 abstentions (National Council) and 44 votes to 0 with 0 abstentions (Council of States) the Federal Decree on Switzerland's accession to the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction. This regulates the jurisdiction of courts in international commercial disputes and the cross-border recognition and enforcement of court judgments.
- by 134 votes to 63 with 1 abstention (National Council) and 45 votes to 0 with 0 abstentions (Council of States) the federal decree on accession to the new Strasbourg Convention on the Limitation of Liability in Inland Navigation and the amendment to the Act on Maritime Navigation under the Swiss Flag necessary for its implementation;
- by 134 votes to 61 with 3 abstentions (National Council) and 45 votes to 0 with 0 abstentions (Council of States) the Federal Decree on the extension of the Convention on the collection, deposit and reception of waste produced during navigation on the Rhine and inland waterways. Rhine vessels will be prohibited from discharging gaseous pollutants into the Rhine;
- by 131 votes to 67 with 0 abstentions (National Council) and 31 votes to 14 with 0 abstentions (Council of States) for an amendment to the Parliament Act. Accordingly, the Federal Council must submit a planning report to Parliament at an early stage on opportunities for Switzerland to cooperate in EU programs and agencies.
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The decisions - with the exception of the voting recommendations on the landscape initiative and the biodiversity initiative - are subject to an optional referendum. The deadline for collecting signatures expires as soon as the decisions are published in the Federal Gazette.
A referendum is being held on the "Uniform financing of outpatient and inpatient care" (Efas). The VPOD union wrote that the proposal is wrong and dangerous - for nursing staff, the quality of care and for insured persons.
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