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Summer should take place, but how come it’s still unclear?
“It will not be a normal summer for any of us.” This is what EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. Therefore, it is clear that summer tourism will look a little different in each country, because the recommendations of the European Commission are not binding. “But if summer vacationers want to enjoy it this way it’s almost exactly like everything else right now: uncertain,” says SRF business editor Fabian von Allmen in his analysis.
Von der Leyen pushes the gas to rebuild
The head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wants to inject billions of the European budget into the economy. The amount of this injection of money is not yet known. The economic recovery program should be carried out during the next multi-annual budgetary framework from 2021 to 2027, but if possible start earlier, von der Leyen said at the European Parliament in Brussels.
It is currently working on a reconstruction model on behalf of the EU countries. However, the details are controversial, and von der Leyen left important points open. This includes the scope and exact method of financing: she had already spoken about investments in billions and explained that she wants to get into debt with the help of budget guarantees from the EU countries.
Von der Leyen now said for the first time how money should be used. The entire additional amount will be spent on EU programs and will be controlled by the European Parliament in accordance with normal budgetary rules, a concession to parliamentarians who want to demand their opinion in a resolution.
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Politician demands faster border openings
Alsatian regional policy Brigitte Klinkert is not satisfied with the pace of easing border controls between Germany and France. “We are making progress, but we are not fast enough,” said Klinkert, chairman of the council of the Haut-Rhin department in eastern France, which borders Baden-Württemberg. Protective measures are still essential, but there is no longer any health reason to keep borders closed as long as the virus is not circulating on both sides of the Rhine, Klinkert explained.
Italy: aid package adopted
After a long delay, Italy launched its € 55 billion aid package, aimed at supporting companies and individuals in the virus crisis. The cabinet has approved the project, says Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Disputes in the weak government coalition had repeatedly delayed adoption.
Why support professional sports?
The Federal Council has decided to support Swiss professional soccer and ice hockey leagues with up to 350 million Swiss francs in the next two years, in addition to mass sports. Federal Councilor Viola Amherd on the need for funds.
Canceled trips: refund is mandatory
Anyone who has paid for a trip that cannot be carried out is entitled to a refund. You do not have to be satisfied with a coupon. This is the law in both the EU and Switzerland. However, no one currently receives a refund from the airline or travel agency. Two legal principles collide.
Because companies that are not sure they are still liquid at the end of the year should not pay money, as explained by Vito Roberto, professor of private law at the University of St. Gallen. However: “Personally, I would probably only accept a coupon if it is a much better option than a refund. If the amount goes beyond what is the reimbursement amount ».
Where can you go on vacation now?
In Switzerland, border controls with neighboring Austria, France and Germany will be relaxed starting May 16. It should only be checked sporadically. There is still no timetable to open the border with Italy. You can see on our map where Swiss tourists are also welcome.
Uber cleans its vehicles
Transportation agent Uber spends $ 50 million on face masks and disinfectants to clean vehicles. As additional measures in the crown crisis, all drivers and passengers in the US The US, Canada, and many European countries must wear face protection while driving, as Uber announced.
Drivers will also be asked starting Monday to snap a photo when they sign up for the app after donning a mask. The software automatically recognizes if a person is wearing nose and mouth protection. Until now, passengers have not had to take a masked photo, but to think about such a requirement, said Uber manager Sachin Kansal. For drivers, Uber only had to add the mask control feature to the existing facial recognition method.
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Record number of passengers at Zurich airport
Operations at the Zurich airport practically stalled in April due to the crown pandemic. The drop in passenger numbers was even more dramatic than in March: overall, the number of travelers dropped by 99 percent to just under 27,000, as the airport announced. Local passengers made up the majority of these travelers, about 88 percent. For the last time in 1952, so few passengers traveled through the Zurich airport in a month. This was four years after the airport was moved from Dübendorf to Kloten.
The fence will go
The fence between Kreuzlingen and Constance has often been in the headlines in recent days – a symbol of the closed border in the Corona crisis. Separation should now be a thing of the past: starting June 15, the German border is expected to reopen. A report from the border area.
WHO urges reluctance
The reduction of measures against the spread of the coronavirus does not in any way signify the end of the crisis, as emphasized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Returning to normality is a long way, according to emergency relief coordinator Michael Ryan in Geneva. Loosening would only make sense with an extensive program to monitor for new infections.
Loosening the measures before the infection has subsided significantly poses the risk of many new infections, Ryan said. Relaxing the measures without thoroughly testing them later and controlling possible infection chains is dangerous. Waiting for the number of infected people to rise in hospitals is also dangerous. This could take weeks, and then it would be too late to keep the infection under control.
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How to continue tourism in central Switzerland?
Tourism will continue to struggle with the effects of the crown pandemic months after the relaxation. Swiss mountain railways and tourist destinations are thinking of the best strategy for the future, including those in central Switzerland. In an online conference, they reported on how the situation is likely to unfold. Rigi-Bahnen director Frédéric Füssenich, for example, said they did not expect international guests to return this year. “We are facing one of the greatest challenges in our 150-year history,” said Füssenich.
The situation was similar with the director of Engelberg-Titlis Tourism, Andres Lietha. The Engelberg region would do above average business with foreign tourists. “From July to November, 40,000 hotel nights will be missing from hotels for international tourism,” Lietha said. Hotels that would have relied primarily on Asian guests would now have to do a lot of searching for new clients. Hotels that would depend on local tourists, on the other hand, had good reservations.
Ukraine: surrogacy children cannot be picked up
Due to crown restrictions, dozens of surrogate children in Ukraine cannot be picked up by their foreign parents. “A video showing 46 children is distributed on social media and on the official website of one of the Kiev clinics,” Ukrainian human rights officer Lyudmila Denissova wrote online. The babies are currently in a hotel in Kiev.
According to the video, the children’s parents are from European countries such as Germany and Austria, but also from the United States, Mexico and China. Since mid-March, foreigners without a residence permit have been banned from entering the former Soviet republic due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, all regular international flight connections are cut.
Holidays in a nearby country: others made the decision
Just two and a half weeks ago, the Federal Council recommended going on vacation to Switzerland this summer. Now a new normal prevails, Federal Parliament editor Andy Müller reviews today’s decisions in the Federal Council. Switzerland was a driving force in the effort to open the borders quickly. “But although Switzerland is a member of the Schengen, it shows once again that this small country is a supplicant, the decisions are made by the big ones,” continues Müller.
Berlin wants to “clean up” in German slaughterhouses
The federal government calls for the precarious situation in German slaughterhouses and the accumulation of corona infections. German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil promised legal consequences: “We are going to clarify these conditions,” the Bundestag said. Corona’s cabinet will take measures next Monday that go beyond previous regulations, he said. “As a society, we cannot continue to observe how people from Central and Eastern Europe are exploited in this society,” said Heil.
The minister stressed that current outsourcing in the industry was “the root of the problem”. Therefore, he campaigned to think fundamentally about the currently widespread construction contract constructions.
TCS calls for campsites to open
The campsites in Switzerland are still closed. The Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) now demands an immediate opening. The required protection concepts could be very well implemented, especially in the camps. From the TCS perspective, the hesitation of the Federal Council is no longer understandable. In Germany, some of the campsites have already been opened, according to a press release.
The position of the Federal Council deprives the Swiss population of an important opportunity to go on vacation to their own country. It also leads to distortions of the market and competition in the accommodation industry with serious economic consequences for campsites as hotels, youth hostels and SAC cabins have already opened their doors to guests.
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Sweden does not recommend traveling abroad
Sweden has taken more liberal measures against the crown pandemic compared to other European countries. Bars, shops and schools never closed. However, compared to its Scandinavian neighbors, the country has to cope with most infections and deaths: As of Wednesday, nearly 28,000 infections had been reported and 3,460 people with Covid-19 disease had died.
The government now advises its citizens not to take trips abroad that are not absolutely necessary until the summer. Due to the continuing uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the Swedish Foreign Ministry is temporarily extending its corresponding recommendation, which has been in effect from mid-March to July 15. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and Foreign Minister Ann Linde announced this at a press conference.
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Solidarity bond in Biel
The city of Biel wants to give each inhabitant a “solidarity voucher” of CHF 25. This must be exchanged in shops and businesses in Biel from July 1 to September 30. To finance the “Biel for Biel” campaign, the city council is asking the city parliament for an additional loan of 1.54 million Swiss francs.
The city government hopes that the campaign will have a multiplier effect: each franc used with a “solidarity voucher” should in turn generate several francs in sales for the Biel companies. Biel authorities also support local shops, restaurants and institutions with the delivery of 100 free protective masks each. The city council has approved a CHF 100,000 loan for this.
The ban on assembly must remain
The Bern City Council still does not want to know about the protests. The federal government-mandated assembly ban still applies, he said, and appealed to the population to refrain from protests. The city government is particularly targeting opponents of Corona’s measures, who want to demonstrate again in the city center next Saturday. The past two Saturdays, several hundred people had gathered at the Bundeshaus for demonstrations.
In both cases, the police did not remove tear gas and rubber bullets quickly because there were older people and many children in the crowd. The protests were only dissolved after a long time and after some pressure from the police.
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TGV drives again
TGV trains between Switzerland and France are operating again. Since Monday there has been a daily connection between Geneva and Paris and between Basel and Paris.
Starting next Monday, TGV Lyria will offer two daily connections between Geneva and Paris or Basel and Paris. The Franco-Swiss railway company is preparing once again to extend the schedule for June and next summer.
It is mandatory to wear a mask on board the train, even for children over the age of eleven. Without a protective mask, it is prohibited to enter the train. During the journey, all train attendants also wear masks to protect passengers.
Passengers must also present documents that justify their trip. In France, travel of more than one hundred kilometers is only allowed if it is well founded.
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