Swiss Review 2/2021

Swiss Review / April 2021 / No.2 28 Notes from the Parliament Building “A Swiss citizen remains a Swiss citizen, wherever they live in the world” An interview with Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis on the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for the Swiss Abroad and the projects for the future which meet the unique requirements of this heterogeneous community. “We are always focused on their needs,” affirms the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Federal Councillor, the Covid crisis and the associated travel restrictions have left the Swiss Abroad isolated and have, in some instances, even placed them in a precarious personal or financial situation. What support does the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) offer? The pandemic has presented us all withnewchallenges, in Switzerland and abroad. However, we havemade a point of keeping all of our rep- resentations open and at the service of our citizens. I have asked my ser- vices to pay particular attention to requests for assistance received and to earmark the necessary funds to deal with the long-term conse- quences. In that regard, I am think- ing primarily of welfare benefits for those who are no longer able to sup- port themselves. And aside from the pandemic? The FDFA carried out an extensive survey of our network in 2018 as well as a survey of the Swiss Abroad in 2019, for whichwe receivedmore than 52,000 replies. This enabled us to identify several action points on which we are already working. To give an example, the first notifica- tion that a Swiss citizen is living abroad can now be made online, without the need to submit origi- nal documents to the representa- tion. Is this process ongoing? Yes: for 2021, it is a question of con- sidering whether the formal frame- work, notably the Swiss Abroad Or- dinance, is still pertinent to today’s requirements and if the principles defined are efficiently applied. We remain attentive to our community. Another recurring theme: political rights. At the last federal vote even greater difficulties than usual were noted regard- ing the delivery of voting material. What can be done? Some 210,000 people are on the electoral register. The majority of these people live in Europe or North America, where few problems re- garding such postal deliveries were recorded. There are problems with sending voting materials for a pro- portion of the remaining electorate. With the Covid-19 crisis, which lim- ited international postal delivery, these problems were further accen- tuated. However, although the Fed- eral Chancellery is the coordinating body at federal level, the exercising of political rights remains the re- sponsibility of the cantons, particu- larly regarding the delivery of vot- ing material. So, what can the FDFA do specifically? It is important to me to contribute to any action enabling the Swiss Abroad to be able to participate ac- tively in public life. A pilot project with the Federal Chancellery is therefore planned for the June 2021 Mingling with expats – Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, together with the President of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad Remo Gysin (left), surrounded by young Swiss Abroad at the Vevey Wine Festival in July 2019. Photo provided