The existing control is sufficient: the Canton of Bern rejects the ban on the sale of resources to foreigners

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The members of the Grand Council of the Greens, the SP, the EPP, the GLP and the SVP were shocked by a case in Valais. Blick reported in mid-March that the rights to a well in the Turtmanntal would be sold abroad. This also caused unrest in the Federal Parliament. SP co-leader Cédric Wermuth (37) had submitted a proposal to stop the sale of the source.

The municipality of Turtmann Unterems said at the time that negotiations were underway, including with Chinese. Blick reported that the Chinese wanted to bottle and export the water with a Matterhorn motif. There were reservations about the sale, partly because of the water shortage in the summer.

Water is increasingly becoming a strategic asset

In the canton of Bern, the Adelboden mineral resources were transferred to a Swiss consortium this summer. He explicitly justified his participation with his commitment “for Switzerland and local water”.

The representatives state in their postulate that water is and will increasingly become a strategic asset in the future. The springs in the canton of Bern are state property. It grants the rights to use water under concessions.

Nevertheless, constellations are conceivable in which sources in the canton of Bern could fall into foreign hands, the postulants state in their request. This occurs, for example, when a concession company is transferred to foreign owners. The government council should therefore investigate whether it makes sense to investigate, limit or even prevent such transfers.

The federal government and the canton see no need for action

But the government council doesn’t want to know about it. According to him, the concession offers sufficient protection for the sources against misuse or use of water that is contrary to the public interest.

The Governing Council admits that the sale of land with springs, water sources and the like, as well as the takeover of concession companies by foreign owners, are possible under certain conditions under federal law.

In May, in response to a proposal, the Federal Council announced that it saw no need for a strategy against takeovers of Swiss drinking water sources.

The Canton of Bern agrees with this view. Corresponding bans would constitute a major erosion of economic and commercial freedom, the predominantly middle-class government council emphasized. When it comes to water and its use, the canton now has sufficient control. Interventions in public or private law would be disproportionate in this context.

Bern’s cantonal parliament, which is also dominated by citizens, will have the final say on the issue. (SDA)

Source:Blick