Tram Service Intro France Planned For 2017; Hot Times For Switzerland; Progress On Immigration Talks With EU; Basel Hosts New Year's Eve Celebrations

News For 27 December 2016

 

Next year, the number 3 tram line will be extended across the French border all the way into the city of St. Louis. This will mark the second extension of the Basel Tram network into another country - the first, of course is the number 8 tram into Germany.  The BVB has apparently promised St.-Louis one million Euro as part of this extension project. The public prosecutors’ office of Basel has become suspicious of the pending payment because there seems to be no written documentation of it, meaning the deal was made only with a handshake. According to the Basler Zeitung, minister of transport and construction in Basel, Hans Peter Wessels, was present when the deal was made. In an interview with the Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, he said that the payment was promised to facilitate the BVB operating on its own terms and conditions. These include Swiss salaries and energy prices.

*********

An article by on-line magazine "The Local" claims that 2016 will end up being among the 10 hottest on record in Switzerland, according to MeteoSuisse, the Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology which has been keeping records since 1864.  Averaging out the average daily temperatures for the year, 2016 was 0.6 degrees centigrade warmer than normal.  However, the average temperature for the three months of winter (December 2015 - February 2016) was 2.5 degrees warmer than average - much to the chagrin of skiing fans around the world.  Sadly, it seems Swiss temperature trends are in line with those around the globe, with 2016 set to be recorded as the hottest on record according to the World Meteorological Organization.

**********

Last week, the Swiss Federal parliament finally produced a set of rules meant to implement 2014's referendum on immigration which was meant to place strict quotas on European immigration into Switzerland.  The rules have turned out to be a massive disappointment to the referendum's proponents, who accuse the government of ignoring the will of the people.  However, emissaries of both Europe and Switzerland met later in the week and were optimistic that the new Swiss rules would allow bilateral economic arrangements to continue as they have abandoned immigration quotas.  Europe sought clarifications in the rules regarding preferences for Swiss workers and the rights of cross border employees.  Praising the Swiss decision, the president of the European Commission , Jean-Claude Juncker, said it “guarantees the full integrity one of our founding principles: the free movement of people” and as a result, 2017 could lead to the “deepening of relations between the EU and Switzerland”.

**********

If you're still unsure about your New Year's Eve plans, consider spending the midnight hour outside along the banks of the Rhine, where the city hosts a number of festive events.  Free glühwein will be handed out on the GrossBasel side of the Rhein on the Mittler and Johanniter bridges starting at 11 pm.  At the Münsterplatz at 11:30 the Basel city choir will perform on the outside balcony of the cathedral.  At midnight, the city's churches and cathedrals will all ring their bells in unison to signify the start of 2017. The finale will be a fireworks show over the river which is scheduled to commence at 12:30.  To accommodate the crowds, the BVB has planned for extended late night tram and bus service.