Migrant Worker Issue Rankles EU/Swiss Politics; Plastic Bags: No Ban, but...No Longer Free; Public Noise Laws Reviewed; Swiss Spy Agencies Must Notify Targets

News For 27 September 2016

European leaders warned Swiss lawmakers yesterday that upcoming negotiations over migration have been complicated by a referendum in Canton Ticino.  On Sunday, citizens of the canton bordering Italy approved a referendum by 58% making employment of foreign workers more difficult. This is at odds with previous trade and labor agreements to which Switzerland is a party that allows for the free movement of EU citizens and workers within the country.  The vote will require the approval of the federal government in Bern, which is already under pressure from the EU.  The two parties are set to meet in October to try and hash out new rules to address the movement of EU citizens in Switzerland in light of its 2014 referendum that voted to limit immigration.  The EU of course, is looking to draw a hard-line as it also anticipates having to negotiate with the UK over its "Brexit" vote last June.

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Late last week, Switzerland's government ended its effort to outlaw plastic bags like those sold in the country's most popular supermarket chains Migros and Coop.  Both companies had been experimenting with programs in limited markets to curtail usage of the environmentally unfriendly product, most notably by charging for the bags.  In anticipation of the laws the government was contemplating, it seems they have decided to roll out the programs nationwide.  Starting November 2016 at Migros, and in October at Coop, both markets will charge 5 rappen per bag, which they say has led to the decline of usage by 80-90% depending on the store.  

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Since 1978 public nuisance ordinances have criminalized the use of devices that amplify music via loudspeakers in public places.  The ban now is under consideration, as smartphones and mini mobile speakers have become mainstream.  Until now, police have been confiscating the devices when they were used to play music in public places in a way deemed a nuisance by others in the vicinity.  In addition, exceptions for the use of loudspeakers outdoors are rare, and usually only granted to event organizers.  However, lawmakers are seeking to liberalize the laws in Basel as tolerance for public noise levels have increased and the harsh nature of the existing laws appear out of date.

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New surveillance laws backed by a referendum over the weekend will require Swiss Spy Agencies to notify citizens when they have been monitored.  In addition to the notification requirements, the laws will allow intelligence agencies to tap phones and monitor emails.  Once monitoring has ended, the SRC (The Swiss Intelligence Agency) will have a month to notify targets of its surveillance of the period, and why they were monitored.  The referendum is an effort to harmonize Swiss Spying rules to those in use throughout the world's leading spy agencies that target terrorist activities.