SwissCommunity “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss Abroad, is in its 49th year of publication and is published six times a year in German, French, English and Spanish in 13 regional editions. It has a total circulation of 431,000, including 253,000 electronic copies. “Swiss Review”’s regional news are published four times a year. The ordering parties are fully responsible for the content of advertisements and promotional inserts. This content does not necessarily represent the opinion of either the editorial office or the publisher. All Swiss Abroad who are registered with a Swiss representation receive the magazine free of charge. Anyone else can subscribe for an annual fee (Switzerland: CHF 30 / Abroad: CHF 50). ONLINE EDITION www.revue.ch EDITORS Marc Lettau, Editor-in-Chief (MUL) Stéphane Herzog (SH) Theodora Peter (TP) Susanne Wenger (SWE) Paolo Bezzola (PB, FDFA representative) FDFA OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS The editorial responsibility for the “Notes from the Federal Palace” section is assumed by the Consular Directorate, Innovation and Partnerships, Effinger- strasse 27, 3003 Berne, Switzerland. kdip@eda.admin.ch | www.eda.admin.ch EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Nema Bliggenstorfer (NB) TRANSLATION SwissGlobal Language Services AG, Baden LAYOUT Joseph Haas, Zurich PRINT Vogt-Schild Druck AG, Derendingen PUBLISHER The “Swiss Review” is published by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). The postal address of the publisher, the editorial office and advertising department is: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, 3006 Berne. revue@swisscommunity.org Tel.: +41 31 356 61 10 Bank details: CH97 0079 0016 1294 4609 8 / KBBECH22 COPY DEADLINE FOR THIS EDITION 1 February 2024 CHANGES OF ADDRESS Please advise your local embassy or consulate. The editorial team cannot access your address and administrative data. Thank you. Imprint A parliamentary group for the “Fifth Switzerland” The spring session of the Swiss parliament saw the reconstituted Swiss Abroad parliamentary group convene for its first meeting – a fitting juncture for us to look more closely at the group. Bees, the Swiss Guide and Scout Movement, and the “Fifth Switzerland” have little in common, you would think. But they each have their own parliamentary group. Parliamentary groups offer like-minded members of the National Council and Council of States the opportunity to meet, interact and share views and ideas among themselves and with representative groups from outside. The “Fifth Switzerland” has had its own dedicated parliamentary group for the last 20 years. The Swiss Abroad parliamentary group was founded in 2004 to raise awareness of issues affecting the international mobility of Swiss nationals and to represent the political interests of the “Fifth Switzerland” more effectively. It therefore acts as an important link between the Swiss Abroad and the Swiss Federal Assembly. New members The composition of the group changes at the beginning of every legislative period. Some members have come and gone, but Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (Centre, Basel-Landschaft), Carlo Sommaruga (SP, Geneva) and Martina Bircher (SVP, Aargau) remain in the group as co-chairs. The group office – currently consisting of Nicolas Walder (Greens, Geneva), Laurent Wehrli (FDP, Vaud) and the Director of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) Ariane Rustichelli – assists them in their work. The OSA acts as a secretariat to the Swiss Abroad parliamentary group and prepares meeting agendas with the co-chairs. Discussing the political agenda Meetings take place four times a year, at the beginning of every parliamentary session. Led by the co-chairs, members at these meetings discuss the political motions put forward on the agenda and their implications for the “Fifth Switzerland”. External experts are also regularly invited to provide the parliamentary group with an in-depth look at issues that are relevant to the Swiss Abroad. The primary objective in the new legislative period will be to work out how best to meet the demands of the 2023–27 OSA election manifesto. Based on the manifesto, members of the Swiss Abroad parliamentary group submit motions frequently or put urgent questions to the Federal Council. SMILLA SCHÄR, SWISSCOMMUNITY Members of the Swiss Abroad parliamentary group often meet early in the morning at the Federal Palace. Here they are in discussion with former Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr. Archive photo: Danielle Liniger (2023) 27 Swiss Review / March 2024 / No.2
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