Messages in the Media - University of Toronto

Swissinfo
www.swissinfo.ch
Swissinfo is a news and information platform that serves as
the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation
(SBC). Its role is to cover events in Switzerland and
to offer a Swiss perspective on international events. The
main readership consists of expatriate Swiss and an international
audience with an interest in Switzerland. The
swissinfo.ch website and mobile platforms are available in
up to nine languages. Swissinfo.ch is based in Bern with offices
in Geneva and Zurich. 7
FINDINGS:
The following major topics were covered extensively in
Swiss national media over the course of 2011.
Foreign Policy
- As part of an initiative to slow Iran’s nuclear development
program, the EU has issued a number of tough economic
sanctions against Iran as of 23 January 2012. All EU countries
are banned from importing oil from Iran, and existing
contracts can last as long as 1 July 2012. Restrictions
have also been placed on investments made by European
companies in Iran’s petrochemical industry. The Iranian
Central Bank has also been subject to sanctions, to make
it harder for the country to finance its nuclear program. 8
- Maria Avet, the spokesperson of the state secretariat for
Economic Affairs in Switzerland commented that as a
non-member, Switzerland has not yet decided whether or
not it will support the sanctions. 9
- However, Switzerland has recently tried to replicate EU
sanctions in order to harmonize its laws with those of its
European trading partners, although there was a delay in
their implementation. If Switzerland stalls its decision to
impose current EU sanctions this could reduce the efficacy
of the sanctions themselves. 10
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