Diesel for farmers is further subsidized thanks to federal councilor Parmelin – the Sunday news

Swiss farmers are still allowed to refuel their tanks tax-free – even though this is against the law; increased suicidal thoughts in adolescents and children; and bullying at the Federal Intelligence Service (NDB): The Swiss Sunday newspapers will report on this and more on February 18, 2024.

The headlines in selected, unverified reports:

Diesel in Swiss tractors is still subsidized on the recommendation of federal councilor Guy Parmelin. The federal government was effectively ordered to abolish and restructure subsidies “in accordance with climate policy”, as the ‘NZZ am Sonntag’ wrote based on internal documents. However, the regulation contradicts legal requirements, the Federal Audit Office found in 2018.

“The fact that the farmers have been able to retain this privilege, even though the federal government is currently paying every franc twice, is remarkable,” wrote the “NZZ am Sonntag”. It shows once again how powerful the farmers in Federal Bern are.

According to the newspaper, Parmelin wrote to the full Federal Council in the autumn of 2023 that Switzerland was obliged to stop subsidies for climate-damaging fuels. In the same article he stated that abolition would be an “economic challenge” for farmers. There had been no farmers’ protests at that time. In total, this amounts to about 65 million francs annually, which farmers do not have to pay to the tax authorities, the newspaper writes.

The number of consultations about suicidal thoughts at the Pro Juventute Foundation has increased by 26 percent compared to the previous year. Hotline 147 has daily contact with nine children and young people because of suicidal thoughts, the future director of the foundation, Nicole Platel, tells ‘SonntagsBlick’. She will take over the position of director in March. Through the reporting point, the foundation often hears that children and young people have to wait for therapy places. In 2019, there were three to four telephone consultations per day. Last year, an average of one crisis intervention took place every two days. In 2019, the foundation registered 57 crisis interventions.

According to a staff survey, one in eight Federal Intelligence Service (NDB) employees have been bullied at work in the past two years. The risk of betrayal within the NDB has increased in recent years, the intelligence watchdog noted. The “NZZ am Sonntag” contained more than 200 pages of internal documents. Radio RTS in French-speaking Switzerland reported a summary of the staff survey on Friday. NDB employees therefore distrust their leadership and, in addition to bullying, complain about a poor error culture and inefficient work processes. NDB director Christian Dussey described the results of the survey as “concerning”, as the NZZ learned from an internal communication to staff.

The Swiss electrical company ABB is said to have misled the investigative authorities in a corruption case. Apparently the company deliberately withheld documents and passed on false information to the authorities, as the “SonntagsZeitung” and “Welt am Sonntag” wrote based on unpublished documents. ABB admitted to bribing the construction of a coal-fired power station in South Africa. The company assured that it would cooperate with authorities and pay a fine of more than $300 million. ABB has reached an agreement with South African, US and Swiss investigative authorities, the newspaper continued. The misconduct could cost him dearly, especially against the US.

The cantons have once again opposed the co-financing of container accommodation for asylum seekers. Federal councilor Beat Jans wants to have container settlements built for asylum seekers and has asked the cantons to co-finance “mobile systems”, as “SonntagsBlick” wrote based on minutes of the meetings of the Special Asylum Unit. There is no legal basis for this. It is not yet clear how many places will be created. It was also unclear how much they would cost. The federal government wants to apply for the additional resources through a supplementary loan in the 2024 budget. The minutes of the meeting also showed that the authorities are preparing for an increasing number of asylum applications in the autumn.

The canton of Geneva wants to play a pioneering role in the fight against domestic violence in French-speaking Switzerland. He wants to test a new system that keeps an eye on people with a criminal past, as ‘Le Matin Dimanche’ wrote. The monitoring must go beyond that of conventional electronic anklets. The geographical localization of a carrier must be possible. The conference of cantonal directors of justice and police approved the principle of supervision last autumn.

The cantons of Central Switzerland have pushed for a majority in a referendum on the EU’s negotiating mandate. Broad social and political support for this issue is important, Zug’s economics director Silvia Thalmann-Gut told “NZZ am Sonntag”. The centrist politician is also a member of the Conference of Cantonal Governments. An agreement on this issue between the cantons is not yet possible, Thalmann-Gut said. The cantons would draw up a legal and political list of advantages and disadvantages. This means that they are ready for a debate if there is a result of the negotiations with the European Union.

The Vaud Court of Appeal has sentenced a jeweler of Palestinian origin to three years in prison. It is said that he stole a pink diamond from a French multi-millionaire living on Lake Geneva and replaced it with quartz, as the “SonntagsZeitung” wrote. The verdict is not yet legally binding. The recently published verdict from December caused a surprise: in the first instance, the court in Nyon VD acquitted the suspect in 2022. The court’s sentence was twice as high as that of the Public Prosecution Service, according to the jeweler’s lawyer. She plans to fight it in federal court. (lacquer/sda)