SWISS-FRANC/GOVERNMENT Swiss president says no need for emergency Swiss franc measures

Record ID: 135258

  • Title: SWISS-FRANC/GOVERNMENT Swiss president says no need for emergency Swiss franc measures
  • Date: 12th October 2015
  • Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (OCTOBER 12, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL VARIOUS OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF THE SWISS CONFEDERATION, SIMONETTA SOMMARUGA, SAYING: "Until now the Federal Council has the opinion that we do not have to take specific measures, emergency measures. But as I said we have to observe that." JOURNALISTS
  • Embargoed: 27th October 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Switzerland
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3SQA37YIJ7XY9ZSL9FNWW0UW9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Switzerland's government does not currently see the need to introduce emergency measures to help the economy deal with a surge in the Swiss franc's value, the Alpine nation's president said on Monday (October 12).
    Nine months after the Swiss central bank stunned markets by abandoning its 1.20 franc per euro currency cap, Simonetta Sommaruga told a news conference in Geneva that the franc "was not that strong anymore" but that the government would continue to monitor its impact on the economy.
    "Until now the Federal Council has the opinion that we do not have to take specific measures, emergency measures. But as I said we have to observe that," said Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga.
    The franc is currently trading at around 1.09 per euro.
    During a news conference, Sommaruga also broached the migration subject, as Switzerland said a month ago it would accept up to 1,500 asylum seekers registered in Italy and Greece under the European Union's distribution program.
    The issue of asylum seekers is proving politically sensitive and the country's biggest party, the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), remains strongly opposed to any measures that might encourage more refugees, most of whom are Muslim, to come.
    As the country approaches elections on Oct. 18, the SVP wants to hold a referendum on Switzerland's recently passed law meant to streamline asylum approval for refugees.
    The anti-immigrant party, which in the past has backed referendums that limited the numbers of foreign workers and banned minarets on mosques, announced the plan as parliament gave final approval to the law shortening most asylum procedures to less than 140 days and offering applicants free legal help.
    "We see that migration is a theme which lends itself to populism, because it concerns people and does not have an easy solution. So it is very attractive to populism," the Swiss president said.
    Last August, an Amnesty International research mission in Traiskirchen (Austria) revealed serious violations of human rights of asylum applicants in the federal centre.
    The Swiss company ORS, who manages the centre of Traiskirchen but also several centres in Austria and in Switzerland, is accused of making profits by hosting migrants in precarious conditions.
    The Swiss government is founding ORS and has been accused of giving priority to the price rather than the quality, which Simonetta Sommaruga denies.
    "In each accommodation of the Confederation, we review and we are closely monitoring the quality of the management. If we see that we do not agree, that the quality is not right, then, this organization can't continue, so this is not privatization. If we have different offers, of course the State also has to choose the one who is less expensive, it can't spend money like that. But quality is just as important as the price," she said.
    In Switzerland, the number of refugees as of June stood at 38,000, up nearly 20 percent from a year earlier.
    The challenge for Switzerland remains much more manageable than for, say, Germany. Far fewer people fleeing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere are currently seeking asylum in the small Alpine nation, which is not a member of the European Union though it is part of Europe's free travel 'Schengen' area.
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