For its 18th meeting outside Berne, the second in the canton of Zurich, the Federal Council meets in Winterthur, the town chosen by the President of the Swiss Confederation. It arrives by train and holds its meeting at the Kunstmuseum. Alain Berset gives the press briefing there, in the middle of Oscar Tuazon’s exhibition: culture […]
A return visit: in February, Alain Berset had attended a kgotla, the traditional Botswanan assembly. On Sunday 30 April, the two presidents attend the Landsgemeinde of Appenzell Innerrhoden together, then visit the Kunsthalle Appenzell, a former brickworks. On 1 May in Berne, the Federal Council receives President Masisi and his wife Neo Jane Masisi. Talks […]
Written message for Europe Day, which marks the Council of Europe every 5 May. Switzerland joined it on 6 May 1963: sixty years the following day. Alain Berset recalls what membership has brought Switzerland, the modernisation of the rule of law and human rights, and the central instrument: the European Convention on Human Rights and […]
Alain Berset represents Switzerland at the coronation of Charles III and Queen Camilla. On the evening of 5 May, the King receives the heads of state and foreign delegations at Buckingham Palace. On 6 May, coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, followed by a reception hosted by the British Foreign Secretary. On the Friday evening, at […]
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe holds a conference in Berne, three days after the 60th anniversary of Switzerland’s accession. Alain Berset speaks at the reception given for the anniversary, a week before the Reykjavik summit. The war in Ukraine “is shaking the values defended by the Council of Europe”. He repeats the […]
For the fourth time in 74 years, the heads of state and government of the Council of Europe’s 46 member states meet, in Reykjavik, at the Harpa. Alain Berset leads the Swiss delegation. The summit responds to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine: it creates a register of damage caused by Russia, adopts a declaration […]
At the 18th Architecture Biennale, “The Laboratory of the Future”, Alain Berset inaugurates the Swiss Pavilion on 18 May. The project “Neighbours”, by the artist Karin Sander and the art historian Philip Ursprung, both professors at ETH Zurich, takes down part of the wall separating Bruno Giacometti’s pavilion (1952) from its Venezuelan neighbour, designed by […]
At the Palais des Nations, Alain Berset opens the 76th World Health Assembly on behalf of the host country. The WHO is 75 years old; on 5 May, it declared the end of Covid-19 as a public health emergency of international concern. Theme of the Assembly: “WHO at 75: saving lives, driving health for all”. […]
At the Geneva International Conference Centre, Alain Berset opens the 19th World Meteorological Congress, the WMO’s supreme body. The organisation is celebrating 150 years since its predecessor, the International Meteorological Organization. Before the session, he meets the Secretary-General, Petteri Taalas. The congress centres on the UN initiative “Early Warnings for All”: protecting every person on […]
Switzerland holds the presidency of the UN Security Council in May. On 22 May, at UN headquarters, Alain Berset opens “Digital Dilemmas”, a multimedia experience organised by Switzerland and the ICRC, with ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger and Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. Some 75 guests, including Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi. Visitors put themselves in the […]
At Mimi Castle in Bulboaca, some twenty kilometres from the Ukrainian border, the leaders of almost the entire continent hold the second summit of the European Political Community; only Russia and Belarus are not invited. Alain Berset represents Switzerland. The venue, he says, is a sign of solidarity with Ukraine and “ein sehr starkes Signal […]
At the Kursaal in Interlaken, Alain Berset opens the 25th Swiss Economic Forum, owned by the NZZ, before some 1,350 business leaders. “Wir sind über alles informiert – aber wir fühlen uns zunehmend orientierungslos.” War in Europe, the rise of authoritarian states and the erosion of the post-war liberal order leave Switzerland facing a clear […]
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