Tag: Switzerland

But if the UK leaves without a deal, all changes and drivers will be expected to carry a green card when in mainland Europe and Ireland. Direct Line insurance says: “In the event of a no-deal Brexit, we have plans to ensure customers are provided with a green card if they drive in Europe on or after 29 March. You will not need a GB sticker to drive outside the UK if you replace a europlate with a numberplate that features the GB sign without the EU flag.” PC Driving with a UK licence when abroad In a sentence You will have to buy an International Driving Permit to drive in Europe, at a price of £5.50, with different ones required for France and Spain If there is no deal with the EU then recognition of UK driving licences in the EU ends. Two weeks ago, the UK government issued its latest advice on healthcare when travelling abroad, warning that if the UK leaves with no deal, our Ehics will no longer be valid. It has advised anyone travelling on or after 29 March to any of the EU countries as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, to buy travel insurance to cover healthcare “just as you would if visiting a non-EU country”. MB Flight compensation In a sentence The government promises to keep EU flight delay payouts, but airlines could use changes to fight having to pay out European Union flight compensation regulations have been fought in almost every UK court, so could a no-deal Brexit give the airlines another opportunity to stop paying passengers after a lengthy delay or cancellation? The British Veterinary Association has warned that a no-deal Brexit will lead to pet owners facing longer waits (pdf) to get their animal cleared for travel, higher costs for the required vaccination, treatments and health certificates each time they leave the UK. It means EU citizens can use their mobile in another EU state as if they are at home. O2 says: “We will be working closely with the government and other European operators to try and protect the current arrangements, so our customers can continue to enjoy free EU roaming.” Ministers have said the government will legislate to put a £45-a-month limit on the amount that could be charged for mobile data abroad. But even here agreement has been reached, with a temporary permissions regime allowing them to carry on in the UK for three years after Brexit, and apply for authorisation during that time.

Brussels insists on the free market, including for wages, but Bern wants to keep high Swiss salaries at any price. Switzerland’s political system is based on broad compromises in parliament so that solutions are not vetoed in referendums. Red lines and Europe More than 25 years ago, Swiss voters threw out a framework agreement of cooperation with the EU: the European Economic Area. Parliament has found a solution for an arbitration mechanism. Brussels argues this rule restricts the free movement of people, a key political tenet of the EU. If such a compromise becomes part of a future framework agreement between Switzerland and the EU, both the left and the right would most certainly force a referendum. At the same time, the leftwing Social Democratic Party (one of four main parties represented in the Swiss government) argues that concessions of this kind are unacceptable and can’t be part of any form of negotiation with Brussels. Optimists and pessimists Political scientists in Switzerland have described this policy as a “veto game”. The political impact is not defined by the share of votes in an election, but by the ability to challenge an issue to a public vote, thereby overturning a decision by the parliamentary majority. The centre-right Radical Party wants to ensure access to the common EU market for Swiss companies but without Switzerland joining the 28-nation bloc.

But this World Cup has proven that the current state of world politics is something that can't be escaped, or ignored. Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri both made apparent Albanian nationalist gestures which imitate the Albanian flag. Many people in the former Serbian province of Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian majority, identify with the red and black flag. Shaqiri was born in Kosovo, while Xhaka's parents are originally from Kosovo. Racist abuse against Durmaz Sweden's Jimmy Durmaz condemned racist abuse he received after the country's 2-1 loss to Germany. That's the biggest thing you can do as a football player. Iranian women finally allowed to enjoy football Iranian women have not been allowed to attend football stadiums to watch men play football in years past. The Prince/Putin handshake When Russia opened the scoring against Saudi Arabia in the World Cup opener, the focus quickly moved from the first goal of the tournament to the two most prominent spectators. Saudi King Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged a friendly handshake after Yury Gazinsky netted for Russia after just 12 minutes. LGBT flag confiscations An England fan has spoken of his frustration after he was told to take a rainbow flag down inside Nizhny Novgorod stadium.

Hours later, it emerged that one of the tournament’s most popular players, the Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah, was considering retiring from his national team in the wake of his interactions with a Chechen politician. FIFA’s political problems began when the Swiss players Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri both made the so-called double-eagle symbol with their hands after scoring in a 2-1 victory against Serbia. The gesture, made by linking the thumbs and fanning out the fingers on both hands, is a nationalist sign that many with ethnic Albanian roots make to symbolize the black eagle in Albania’s flag. In Serbia, however, the gesture was viewed as a provocation. Serbia’s soccer federation faced its own disciplinary proceeding, though, for a display of political messages by its fans during the game. Image Then came word that Salah, Egypt’s biggest star, was considering retiring from the national team once the World Cup ended after he was drawn into a political controversy related to his federation’s decision to live and train in Chechnya during the tournament. Salah has become one of the world’s highest-profile players over the past year, and he was the star attraction at Egypt’s training facility in Grozny, the capital of the Russian province of Chechnya. On the eve of the tournament, photos emerged of Salah alongside Ramzan A. Kadyrov, the Chechen leader, at Egypt’s first training session. If Serbia defeats Brazil and Switzerland loses to Costa Rica, the Serbs could advance ahead of Switzerland. Switzerland has no beef in this battle.” Others pointed to another hand gesture that has not yet been punished: the Serbian three-finger salute, which is seen as a nationalist symbol.

On the left boot’s heel was the flag of Switzerland. On the right, the flag of Kosovo. So after Shaqiri broke free of Serbia’s offside trap in the final minutes of the game and slid the ball with his left boot, his Swiss boot, under the onrushing Serbia goalkeeper, Vladimir Stojkovic, he peeled away and made a two-handed eagle gesture with his fingers. It is a nationalistic sign that many with ethnic Albanian roots make — Granit Xhaka made it after he scored Switzerland’s first goal earlier in the second half — to mimic the black eagle in Albania’s flag. “If he loves Kosovo that much and never misses a chance to flaunt the flag, why did he refuse a chance to play for their team?” the Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic said when asked about Shaqiri’s boots. “As I said a hundred times, let me say it for the 101st time,” Serbia’s Mladen Krstajic said before the game, “I am not into politics.” Yet politics was never far away on Friday, and Kosovo — even as it was not playing — remains a continuing issue. The punishment led the Serbian football federation to issue a statement urging fans attending the “high-risk game” on Friday not to display political banners. “We do have a lot of immigrants in our team, but Shaqiri and Xhaka are both Swiss and from Kosovo,” the Swiss supporter Andreas Podolak said. It was Shaqiri, who was booed every time his face appeared on the stadium’s video screen and every time he touched the ball. As the game ended, heavy rain began to fall, and Shaqiri gave a thumbs up to Serbian fans as he left the field.

Komninos is not one of the 10 senior politicians under investigation, but his name does appear in one of the anonymous testimonies — obtained by POLITICO — where he is accused of accepting a bribe from Novartis in the form of “bundles of cash wrapped in orange tapes.” In an interview, he denied the allegation and said he worked to lower drug prices while in office. The testimonies, which were given under oath, contain several other similar tales of government officials receiving bribes in the form of bundles of cash. Novartis declined to comment on the allegations made in the anonymous Greek testimonies and the FBI report. We believe this is highly inappropriate and will defend our people and company against these claims.” The FBI declined to comment on its report and referred questions to the U.S. Embassy in Athens, which also declined to comment. Countersuits Maria Spyraki, a member of the European Parliament and spokesperson for the opposition New Democracy party, said that nothing in the documents released by Greek investigators so far provides hard evidence of any wrongdoing by senior politicians in Greece. “But the witnesses are not enough.” She added that the Greek parliament committee investigating Novartis had found no specific evidence incriminating any public official in Greece. In January, New Democracy also filed official questions to the minister of justice, Stavros Kontonis, asking him to explain how he plans to shelter the Greek judiciary from political influence amid allegations that those who have been accused are personalities that the ruling Syriza party would like to see tarnished. Stefanos Komninos, the former secretary-general of the ministry of economy, shipping and competitiveness, is accused in one witness statement of having kept the price of a box Galvus, a type 2 diabetes drug, at €300 instead of €150. A spokesperson for Touloupaki told POLITICO that her office is still conducting preliminary investigations into allegations that Novartis bribed public officials in Greece. Touloupaki’s office is also collaborating with anti-laundering officials in several EU countries to gather evidence of bribes being laundered out of the country, the two officials in Touloupaki’s office said.

Frenchman convicted of industrial espionage by Swiss in 2015 Falciani arrested in Spain for second time on Swiss charges Former HSBC Holdings Plc computer specialist Herve Falciani is in trouble again in Spain, and this time may be at risk of getting caught up in a Catalan political drama. The Frenchman stole client data and then leaked the information to authorities, triggering tax-evasion probes across Europe. It’s the second time the Swiss tried to get him from Spain, where judges rejected his extradition in 2013 because his actions in Switzerland weren’t illegal in Spain. Politics in Spain have been upset by the Catalan separatist movement, and there’s been speculation that the Swiss could demand Falciani in return for pro-independence leaders who fled for Switzerland earlier this year. “It would be difficult to see why the Spanish would accede to the request if nothing has changed.” On Thursday, Falciani appeared at a hearing in Madrid, where a judge turned down a request by Spanish prosecutors to hold him while the extradition request is considered. Puigdemont, himself, was released on 75,000 euros ($92,000) bail in Germany after a court declined to consider a Spanish judge’s request to have Puigdemont extradited on rebellion charges. Falciani was convicted of industrial espionage, which is considered a political crime against the state, and acquitted of charges he violated commercial and banking secrecy rules, Henzelin said. Laurent Moreillon, HSBC’s lawyer, told reporters after the trial that Falciani’s “a thief and a liar,” and that his argument he was a whistle-blower was “pure invention and is a lesson to anyone who might try the same thing.” Penalty Nevertheless, HSBC’s Swiss unit agreed to a pay penalty of 40 million Swiss francs ($42 million) to end a probe into allegations of money laundering by the Geneva prosecutor’s office and avoid criminal charges. The day after Falciani’s arrest on Wednesday, the FOJ submitted a formal request for extradition. Spanish authorities informed the Swiss last month that the arrest warrant would be valid in Spain, the spokesman said.

The Story:  Every year in late January, the World Economic Forum hosts a forum in Davos, Switzerland that brings together top business and political leaders...

The Story:  Every year in late January, the World Economic Forum hosts a forum in Davos, Switzerland that brings together top business and political leaders...