Swiss Review 3/2019

Swiss Review / May 2019 / No.3 23 OSA news “This year is an election year, and it is more important than ever for us to defend the interests of the 760,000 Swiss Abroad and remind politicians that expatriate votes count,” said the President of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), Remo Gysin, at the start of the CSA meeting at Berne’s city hall on 23 March. Some 172,000 Swiss Abroad are currently entered in the electoral register, which corresponds to the number of eligible voters in the canton of Thur- gau. In Berne, the CSA decided that it will be making voting recom- mendations for the first time ever. Its objective in doing so is to take even greater account of the needs and concerns of Swiss Abroad in the forthcoming legislative period. These recommendations will be finalised at the next CSA meeting on 16 August 2019 in Mon- treux. general information about the Swiss party-political landscape. The website will serve as an expatriate platform for the political par- ties that currently have seats in the Federal Palace. These parties will also have the opportunity to address delegates from around the world directly at the Congress of the Swiss Abroad in Montreux. Furthermore, the CSAwill also approve a 2019 electionmanifesto officially on behalf of the Swiss Abroad, the basic tenets of which it drew up in Berne. The CSA will adopt a finalised version of this man- ifesto at its August meeting inMontreux. First and foremost, the elec- tionmanifestowill target Switzerland’s political parties and their can- didates for the federal elections. It will focus on issues of importance to Switzerland’s expatriate citizens, such as the future of voting rights, international mobility, preservation of the consular network, and the unsatisfactory deal that Swiss banks currently offer their Swiss expa- triate clients. With this in mind, the CSA in Berne again made reference to the fact that Postfinance expatriate clients pay much higher banking fees but do not receive the same level of service as their compatriots in Switzerland – something that many Swiss Abroad view as dis- crimination. According to the CSA, Postfinance AG, whose main shareholder is state-owned Swiss Post, also has a special responsi- bility towards Swiss citizens who live abroad. Many Swiss move abroad for professional reasons and often just for a relatively short time, making it all the more important for them to keep an account in Switzerland. However, the CSAprefers a non-confrontational approach on this important matter andwill not be taking any legal action against Post- finance for the time being. Nevertheless, the resolution that it adopted in Berne was unequivocal: “We, the Swiss Abroad, demand non-dis- criminatory access to the services of Postfinance.” (ASO) Swiss Abroad launch election year At its meeting in Berne, the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA) focused on the upcoming national elections. The CSA will make voting recommendations for the first time in its history. In session – the main focus of the CSA in Berne centred on the 2019 elections. Photo: Marc Lettau The OSA has already started an election website specifically for the Swiss Abroad (www.aso.ch/en/politics/federal-elections-2019) , con- taining practical information about the voting procedure as well as educationsuisse Tel .+41 31 356 61 04 Fax+41 31 356 61 01 info@educationsuisse.ch www .educationsuisse. ch Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) Alpenstrasse 26 CH-3006 Berne Tel. +41 31 356 61 00 Fax +41 31 356 61 01 info@aso.ch www.aso.ch www.revue.ch www.swisscommunity.org Our partners: Foundation for Young Swiss Abroad Tel .+41 31 356 6116 Fax+41 31 356 61 01 info@sjas.ch www.sjas.ch