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The summer session of the National Council and the Council of States begins on Tuesday. For three weeks, the parliamentarians will discuss various current themes.
The National Council has set aside about seventy hours for its deliberations. Traditionally, the Council of States spends less time on politicization. But even the small room has at least 54 hours scheduled for her business.
Here are the key deals that will be decided over the next three weeks.
Is the Credit Suisse PUK coming?
Three months after the forced takeover of Credit Suisse by competitor UBS, the National Council and the Council of States are discussing the establishment of a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (PUK) into this matter. The offices of both municipalities have requested this. The PUK is the strongest instrument of parliamentary oversight. A PUK is used when incidents of major importance need to be clarified.
To date, this has happened only four times: after the Mirage scandal in 1961, the Kopp affair in 1989, after the Fichen scandal in 1990 and to clarify organizational and management problems at the federal pension fund in 1995. A PUK has the same rights as the audit delegation and the finance delegation. In particular, it can question people as witnesses and see the minutes and documents of meetings of the Federal Council.
It will only become clear on Tuesday when the councils will decide exactly on the PUK.
Is there more money for road construction?
In order to reduce traffic jams, noise and exhaust fumes, the Federal Council wants to continue to invest in transport infrastructure in the coming years. For the operation, maintenance and expansion of the national highways, he is requesting a payment framework of CHF 8.787 billion for the years 2024 to 2027. There are also five specific expansion projects worth CHF 4.354 billion. That is not well received everywhere.
Links-Groen calls for a revision of the design, taking into account the objectives of the federal government’s environmental, climate and energy policy, or for the development of an alternative concept that does not require a significant increase in capacity. The citizens, on the other hand, want to increase loans by 911 million francs and thus bring forward two expansion projects in western Switzerland. The National Council is now the first council member to consider the bill.
How much premium discount should there be?
The councils continue to disagree on how the population should benefit from higher reductions in health insurance premiums in the future. The competent committee of the Council of States now wants to bridge the gap. The majority wants minimum requirements for the cantons for contributions to the premium reduction, but lower than the Bundesrat and the National Council. The proposal is an indirect counter-proposal to the SP’s premium waiver initiative. In this session, the National Council is currently considering the indirect counter-proposal to the Mitte party’s cost containment initiative. The councils have already agreed on the introduction of cost and quality targets for healthcare. However, differences in the details remain.
Where will our electricity come from in the future?
The Council of States is discussing the Energy Mantle Decree for the second time. This is intended to improve Switzerland’s security of electricity supply in the medium and long term. There is agreement that progress should be made in expanding renewable energy sources. However, many details remain open after the first consultation round. The Council of States Commission came up with new proposals to strike a good balance between protection and use interests and thus arrive at a widely supported proposal. For example, the residual water regulations should continue to apply indefinitely. In return, she advocates areas where the use of solar and wind energy prevails over other interests. The Commission also rejects new obligations for solar systems on buildings, but parking spaces must be covered with solar panels.
How long do we have to work?
After voters narrowly voted yes to raising the retirement age for women last year, the National Council is already considering another AHV reform project. The pension initiative of the young liberals is on the table. It wants to link the retirement age to life expectancy and gradually increase it, initially to 66 years. The retirement age will then rise by 0.8 months for each month of additional life expectancy. Like the Bundesrat and the Council of States, the competent committee of the National Council rejects the referendum without a counterproposal. A further adjustment of the retirement age is not opportune at the moment, according to the majority. She also points out that the Federal Council must approve a new AHV reform on behalf of parliament before the end of 2026. We have to wait for this template.
How is the burqa initiative implemented?
After the Council of States opposed its committee’s proposal in the spring to introduce a federal law banning face coverings, the small chamber is now discussing the details. The proposal implements the burqa initiative accepted by the people and the cantons.
According to the proposal of the Federal Council, violations of the ban on covering the face will be punished with a maximum of one thousand francs. The law provides for exceptions. In the case of demonstrations, the Bundesrat’s draft provides that the responsible authorities can issue a face covering permit in such cases. The Commission clearly approved the unchanged draft decree in the overall vote. Initially, the Commission did not want to implement this at national but at cantonal level.
When can you vote?
In September 2020, the National Council approved a parliamentary initiative by National Council Sibel Arslan (Greens/BS) to lower the voting age from 18 to 16. Two and a half years later, the accompanying proposal is on the brink of collapse. The state political committee of the National Council (SPK-N) does not want to continue working on the project. She asks the full Council a second time to copy the bill.
The majority of the Commission sees its original decision confirmed by the feedback in the consultation: a lower voting age is not desired by a majority of the cantons, it is said. At the cantonal level, only Glarus has the voting age of 16. In several other cantons, a reduction at the ballot box has failed in recent years.
How much money is there for Ukraine?
Both councils are discussing a five billion franc aid package for Ukraine. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council (APK-N) and State Councilor Mathias Zopfi (Greens/GL) have tabled identical motions. The money is to be used for humanitarian aid, civilian protection, mine clearance and peace building. But the move is controversial.
A strong minority of the National Council Commission believes that there are still many questions about the reconstruction of Ukraine and related international cooperation that need to be clarified before any money can be committed. The Confederation’s aid to Ukraine is already one of Switzerland’s largest humanitarian commitments to date.
How is biodiversity safeguarded?
Unlike in the National Council, the indirect counter-proposal to the Biodiversity Initiative will have a hard time in the Council of States. The Environment Committee decided by six votes to five with one abstention not to follow up on the Bundesrat’s proposal. That is why the small chamber only conducts a fundamental debate. The majority of the Commission is convinced that the conditions are already in place in Switzerland to designate sufficient areas of particular importance for biodiversity.
The minority believes that rapid and targeted action is needed. These are amendments to the Nature and Domestic Protection Act and other decrees. The National Council and the Federal Council recommend that the initiative itself be rejected. With an amendment to the federal constitution, the referendum aims to oblige the federal government and now also the cantons to protect and preserve biodiversity and the landscape. She pleads for more government funding.
Can Amherd sell the tanks back to Germany?
The army would have 1.9 billion francs available to buy weapons and materials and invest in real estate. This is stated in the Federal Council’s 2023 Army Message. The Security Policy Committee of the National Council (SIK-N) agrees. She also approves the payment framework for the army, which has been increased by 600 million francs to 21.7 billion francs in the years 2021 to 2024.
The SIK-N’s request to dismantle 25 decommissioned Army Leopard tanks in order to enable the sale of these tanks to the German manufacturer should generate the most uproar. In the eyes of the majority, the dismantling and sale of the tanks does not constitute a disadvantage for the army in terms of full equipment, training and spare parts reserves. The minority does not want to decommission the tanks for future use. The Bundesrat welcomes the dismantling.
Will the imputed rental value be abolished?
The abolition of the tax on the imputed rental value of housing is a recurring and controversial topic. Templates for this have already failed twice at the ballot box and several times in parliament. The Economic Commission of the Council of States (WAK-S) made a new attempt in 2017. In the autumn of 2021, the Council of States spoke relatively narrowly in favor of a system change in the notional rental value.
At the end of September 2022, the National Council returned the bill to committee for an additional round. The Fuder was overloaded, he discovered. You won’t win a referendum with that. The National Council Commission is now waiving some of the earlier demands. However, in the run-up to the debate, she once again spoke out in favor of completely abolishing imputed rental value. Like the Council of States, a minority of the council is against exempting second homes from the imputed rental value.
Where can you build?
The National Council decides on amendments to the Spatial Planning Act. His responsible committee wants to receive applications that should turn the design into an effective counter-proposal to the landscape initiative. In the review of the law, the majority wants to keep the number of buildings outside built-up areas stable and not allow additional exceptions for building outside built-up areas. She therefore wants to limit individual decisions of the Council of States. However, there are some controversial points. A narrow majority wants to allow the demolition, reconstruction and operation of old-fashioned accommodation companies under certain conditions. However, this should not apply to host companies. The Council of States also wants to give this option to host companies. (SDA/brother)
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
