News

Speech by State Secretary Alexandre Fasel at the OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum in Prague. Check against delivery

The Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) is publishing the Josef Mengele file held in the Swiss Federal Archives (SFA). The file is therefore now available to anyone interested. Certain passages have been redacted to protect sources and the personal data of third parties.

For the first time, Empa researchers, in collaboration with researchers from Eawag and Agroscope, have systematically investigated how much microplastic enters the environment in Switzerland via the atmosphere. The result: More than 200 tons of plastic particles contaminate soil and water bodies each year. Of this amount, about 40 percent end up on agricultural land and in lakes and rivers.

Every year, Swiss wastewater treatment plants release around 5 tonnes of microplastics into the environment. That is relatively little: It is estimated that around twice as many microplastic enters Swiss water bodies via the atmosphere. These figures come from the largest nationwide investigation to date on ultrafine plastic particles in the air, water and soil, a joint project by Eawag, Empa and Agroscope. These figures were made possible thanks to a new approach to sampling that yields significantly more reliable results than previous processes..

On 1 June 2026, there were 45 493 vacant dwellings in Switzerland. This was 0.93% of the total dwelling stock (including single-family houses). There were thus 2962 fewer vacant dwellings compared with the previous year, a decrease of 6.1%. The downward trend in the vacancy rate observed since 2021 therefore continues. These are the latest results from the Federal Statistical Office's (FSO) Empty Dwellings Census.

On 9 September 2026, Lausanne hosted a high-level meeting dedicated to the role of sport in diplomacy and peace. Representatives from politics, sports and science from the Sahel region and West Africa discussed how sport can build trust, maintain dialogue and create opportunities for engagement when political relations are strained. Following the round table, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis met with high-ranking representatives of the authorities of the Confederation of Sahel States and Senegal.

The Federal Council has banned the purchase and import of gold originating in Sudan. The sale to Sudan of certain goods used in gold mining and gold extraction is also prohibited. In so doing, the Federal Council is aligning itself with the EU’s equivalent sanctions. The measures will come into force on 10 September.

The Federal Council wants to improve access to high-speed internet in sparsely populated areas. To this end, it adopted the dispatch to Parliament on the Broadband Promotion Act at its meeting on 9 September 2026. The Act provides for a temporary funding programme to support the roll-out of broadband networks using fibre optic or wireless technology.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin and Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will represent Switzerland at the opening of the UN General Assembly from 20 to 23 September 2026. This 81st session (from 8 September 2026 to 7 September 2027) will focus on restoring confidence in multilateral institutions and the necessary transformation of the UN. The successor to António Guterres as head of the UN Secretariat will also be a key issue at the 81st session.

The Swiss Confederation issued two bonds by auction on 09.09.2026: 0.875%, maturity 24.06.2041 (reopening) and 0.5%, maturity 30.05.2058 (reopening). The issuance volume (excluding own holdings) amounts to a total of 368.630 million francs.

Patents relating to plant breeding are to be disclosed in future. This will give breeders greater certainty in their breeding of new varieties. On 9 September 2026, the Federal Council acknowledged the results of the consultation and adopted the dispatch on the revision of the Patents Act for submission to Parliament.

Scientists from Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have used an electric field to reverse the handedness of atomic vibrations known as chiral phonons. Chiral phonons link magnetism with atomic motion. The ability to control them opens new possibilities for phonon-based information technologies.