Sunday, November 03, 2024
Published: Sunday, Nov 3rd 2024, 07:20
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Discussion about the EU cohesion contribution, the business with caregiving relatives and facial analysis at the grocery store: this and more can be found in the Sunday newspapers. The headlines in unverified reports:
"NZZ am Sonntag":
SWITZERLAND-EU: The Federal Council is to discuss the amount of the future cohesion contribution to the EU next Wednesday. According to the "NZZ am Sonntag", the aim is to determine how much Switzerland would like to pay for its access to the European single market. The current contribution of CHF 130 million per year is likely to increase significantly; Norway's payment of CHF 450 million will be used as a comparison. FDP National Councillor Simon Michel sees this as a sensible investment and considers Norway to be a realistic comparison. Critics, including SVP National Councillor Franz Grüter, reject payments to the EU and emphasize that Switzerland does not make such contributions with other trading partners. According to the NZZ am Sonntag, the EU is also pushing for the Swiss rail network to be opened up to foreign providers, which is meeting with resistance in the industry.
"SonntagsZeitung"
HEALTH: For four years now, family caregivers have been able to have their work reimbursed by basic insurance. Companies specializing in caring for relatives have thus created a lucrative market, as the SonntagsZeitung wrote. According to the health insurance association Santésuisse, this area is growing exponentially and the costs borne by the insurance companies are likely to exceed CHF 100 million by 2025. Santésuisse warned that this increase in costs would have a direct impact on premiums. Research by the SonntagsZeitung revealed that the two largest health insurers, CSS and Helsana, are themselves involved in such a company. Through subsidiaries, they support the "Pflegewegweiser" company, which is known for its intensive advertising. Experts criticized this as a conflict of interest, as health insurance companies are actually supposed to control the billing of care services. The health insurance companies defended their involvement in the newspaper, as innovative solutions are necessary in the care sector.
"SonntagsZeitung"/"Le Matin Dimanche":
STEEL: SVP National Councillor Christian Imark has accused Economics Minister Guy Parmelin of "fake news" regarding his statements about the Gerlafingen steelworks. In the "SonntagsZeitung" newspaper, Imark criticized Parmelin's statement in the SRF "Rundschau" programme, according to which more than 20 steelworks within a radius of 150 kilometers could easily meet Swiss demand. In fact, there are only three plants in this region that produce concrete and reinforcement steel like Gerlafingen, explained Imark, threatening Parmelin with consequences in the election of the Federal President. However, Parmelin stuck to his position. Two weeks ago, around 500 people had already demonstrated on the Bundesplatz against the impending closure of the plant, but the Federal Council refused financial aid as the steelworks is not classified as systemically relevant. Steel is a globally traded commodity for which there are many alternative suppliers, it said.
"Sonntagsblick":
MILITARY: The Department of Defense (DDPS) has identified shortcomings in the support provided by the army and civil defense for major civilian events. An internal audit revealed that the guidelines for such operations were often not adhered to, as the "SonntagsBlick" writes, citing the report. There was criticism above all of the lack of controls as to whether commercially successful events were correctly paying their share of the profits. According to the report, members of the armed forces and civilian security personnel perform over 50,000 days of service per year at ski races and other major events such as the Swiss Wrestling Festival. According to the DDPS, some events could not take place without this support. Defence Minister Viola Amherd ordered that the control mechanisms for event organizers be tightened, as "Sonntagsblick" went on to write.
"NZZ am Sonntag":
DATA ANALYSIS: Spar Switzerland has stopped its project to analyze the faces of store customers. Sensors were to have been installed at 147 locations to roughly record the age and gender of customers, as the "NZZ am Sonntag" wrote. The data would have been used to broadcast personalized advertising on the store screens. The system had already been installed in several stores, but according to the company, it is now being gradually dismantled. "Feedback from our customers prompted us to abandon personalized advertising again," Spar explained to the newspaper. The privacy of customers had always been protected. Monika Simmler, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of St. Gallen, disagreed. The analysis of schematic characteristics such as age and gender would already constitute an infringement of customers' fundamental rights, she told the NZZ am Sonntag.
"SonntagsBlick":
HUMAN RIGHTS: Trans woman Nadia Brönimann will address the Grand Council of the Convention on Human Rights in Geneva on November 7. She will address the issue of transitioning minors, as she told the Sonntagsblick newspaper. She regrets her own gender reassignment surgery, which she underwent 26 years ago. "I demand that hormones for gender reassignment should not be prescribed to minors, let alone medical interventions," said the 55-year-old. She believes that pubertal development should be left intact. Brönimann pilloried Switzerland's "experimental system", in which self-diagnoses by young people are "exclusively affirmed". Between 2019 and 2022, the number of gender reassignment operations rose from 248 to 525, wrote SonntagsBlick, citing figures from the Federal Statistical Office. 24 people who underwent a mastectomy (mastectomy) in 2022 were therefore minors.
"SonntagsBlick" / "Sonntagszeitung"
AUTO INDUSTRY: The crisis in the German car industry, particularly at Volkswagen, is also affecting suppliers in Switzerland. This was reported by the "SonntagsZeitung" and "Sonntagsblick" newspapers. Martin Hirzel, President of "Swissmem", explained that the industry's exports fell by 7.8 percent in the first nine months and by as much as 14.8 percent in the third quarter. Due to the crisis, many companies imposed a hiring freeze; some implemented redundancies and short-time working. For example, "Feintool" is relocating parts of its production to the Czech Republic, "Komax" is closing sites in Rotkreuz and Cham and "Georg Fischer" is considering selling its automotive division. Anja Schulze from "Swiss Car" explained that Swiss suppliers have broadened their customer base in recent years, but are still heavily dependent on German manufacturers.
"NZZ am Sonntag":
HEALTH INSURANCE: The rising administrative costs of health insurance companies are placing an additional burden on premiums. Individual insurers could save up to 30 percent of their administrative expenses, estimated Silvia Fleischmann from the consulting firm SEEG, based on analyses of annual reports, as reported by the "NZZ am Sonntag". Health insurance expert Felix Schneuwly from Comparis confirms this estimate and sees great savings potential for a quarter of the health insurance companies. The health insurance association Santésuisse, on the other hand, questioned such calculations. Annual reports would not show which services are provided in-house or purchased externally," said spokeswoman Irit Mandel to the "NZZ am Sonntag". She pointed out that the health insurers had to limit their costs by law.
"SonntagsZeitung":
JUSTICE I: A total of 75 rapists were convicted in Switzerland in 2023. According to the SonntagsZeitung, 41 of them received unconditional prison sentences, while the rest received conditional or partially conditional sentences with an average duration of 4.5 years, which would probably not have to be served in full. This means that the punishment for rape is less severe than for cocaine trafficking, which is punishable by five years in prison for three kilograms, the report continued. Whereas in the past the tenor was that a male justice system was to blame for the lenient sentences handed down to sex offenders, today women are in the majority in the public prosecutor's offices. According to criminal law professor and SP member of the Council of States Daniel Jositsch, female lawyers judge rape cases according to the same criteria as their male colleagues, but are often more understanding towards perpetrators.
"Le Matin Dimanche":
JUSTICE II: The Valais public prosecutor's office has concluded its criminal investigation into the illegal buildings in Verbier (VS). "Le Matin Dimanche" has received the indictment. Four former municipal representatives and the municipal secretary have to answer for mismanagement in the public interest and abuse of office. The issuing of the unlawful building permits was "part of a political and economic strategy aimed at developing upscale tourism and attracting large fortunes", according to public prosecutor Cindy Kämpf in the 44-page indictment. The case was uncovered in 2015. Of the 248 illegal constructions investigated, the public prosecutor's office selected 23 to substantiate its allegations.
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