The$swiss$confederation,$a$brief$guide$2014$
Important$decisions$are$often$made$really$slowly$in$Switzerland.$
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Didier$Burkhalter$(President$of$Swiss$confederation$2014):$$
*$Priorities:$$
The$Swiss$relationship$with$the$rest$of$world,$which$is$at$discussion$right$now.$
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About$Switzerland:$$
Foreign$nationals$by$origin$of$country:$
Italy$(15,6%)$
Germany$(15,2%)$
Portugal$(12,7%)$
France$(5,6%)$
About$2$million$people$are$foreign$nationals$of$the$total$of$8$million$inhabitants.$
65%$speaks$German,$22,4%$French$and$20%$other,$5,4%$Italian.$$
Household$expenditure$is$mostly$on$taxes$and$social$insurance.$
Household$size:$one$person$households$(36,5%),$couples$without$children$(28,1)$and$couples$with$
children$(26,7%).$
38,4%$is$roman$catholic,$protestant$reformed$(27,8),$no$religion$(20,6%).$
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Federal$revenue:$mostly$on$VAT$(35%)$and$direct$federal$tax$(29,1),$(8%)$mineral$oil$tax$
Federal$expenses:$33,5%$on$social$security,$15,2%$on$debt$and$financial$equalisation,$13,2%$
transport.$$
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History:$$
Switzerland$was$founded$in$1815$by$the$congress$in$Vienna$and$in$political$terms$by$the$Federal$
constitution$in$1848.$It$was$during$the$years$rife$with$wars$and$crises$between$1798$and$1848$that$
the$alliance$of$states$evolved$into$a$federal$state.$$
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1291:$Uri,$Schwyz$and$Unterwalden$entered$into$a$charter.$The$confederation$continued$to$grow,$
until$1513$it$had$to$include$the$original$13$cantons.$$
1525:$Reformation$caused$the$dividence$of$the$country$along$religious$lines.$Protestant$areas$and$
Catholic$areas$increasingly$grew$apart$and$went$to$war$4$times$up$until$1712.$
1648:$Under$the$Peace$of$Westphalia,$EU$countries$recognized$the$confederation’s$independence$
from$the$Holy$Roman$Empire$and$its$neutrality.$$
1798]1803:$French$army$occupies$Switzerland$as$a$satellite$state$of$France.$
1803:$Act$of$mediation:$cantons$become$states$again$done$by$Napolion,$restorted$13$cantons$and$…
