18/12/2025
Yesterday, Wednesday 17 December 2025, the petition to save Swissinfo and the SRG’s international mandate was submitted. Together with representatives of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), swisscommunity, SSM, educationsuisse, Reporters Without Borders and other organisations, more than 17,000 signatures were ceremoniously handed over to the Federal Chancellery in good spirits, with pleasant temperatures and sunshine. Soliswiss supported this petition and was also represented on site by two staff members.
What is it about?
At present, the Council of States, as the first chamber, is debating the Relief Package 27. The austerity package adopted by the Federal Council in September includes 67 measures aimed at saving more than eight billion Swiss francs by 2030. One of these measures concerns the federal contribution to the SRG’s international mandate, which is to be reduced. Until now, this mandate has been supported with 19 million Swiss francs, of which 9 million benefited Swissinfo. In recent weeks, however, numerous stakeholders have spoken out against these cuts and have campaigned strongly for certain austerity measures to be withdrawn.
Soliswiss is keeping its fingers crossed that Swiss citizens abroad will continue to be able to rely on trustworthy reporting in the future.