After more than a year of studying the “border effect” along Switzerland’s borders, FEDRE has identified 10 areas for further consideration, which it will test, refine, expand upon, revise, and clarify in the coming months.
Throughout Switzerland, cross-border relations with France, Italy, Germany, and Austria are developing and generally serving as a source of prosperity. However, these relations occasionally give rise to imbalances that FEDRE hopes to help correct by introducing the following 10 initial proposals for discussion into the public debate (the numbering does not indicate an order of priority).
1. Unemployment benefits for cross-border workers
In Switzerland, cross-border workers pay unemployment insurance premiums, but it is their home country—which does not receive these revenues—that must bear the bulk of the heavy burden of benefits. Switzerland is not responsible for this European anomaly, but it finds itself in the position of an insurer that collects premiums without paying out claims. The fact that a European Union regulation leads to this shocking situation should not prevent us from discussing how to ensure that Switzerland transfers the corresponding contribution amounts fairly to the body responsible for paying the benefits.
2. Health
The exodus of medical staff from France, Italy, and to a lesser extent Germany to Switzerland is posing major challenges for these countries in maintaining the quality of care for their patients. The situation is considered particularly dire in many French facilities near Geneva, where beds are being eliminated due to a lack of staff. This is the most challenging cross-border issue, for which innovative solutions must be found. Could we imagine that, for certain types of care, patients living in Geneva might be treated in France near the border, and that nursing homes (EMS/EHPAD) might also be developed there for elderly people from Geneva? Since the reasons are primarily salary-related, among the avenues to explore, we could consider creating a solidarity fund with French or Italian healthcare staff paid in euros, either by expanding the model currently being implemented in Ticino—an additional solidarity tax paid by cross-border workers—or by using the model described below (point 3) for Geneva’s tax rebate. A map of medical resources in the region should also be developed, taking into account travel distances and the specialties offered by the various healthcare facilities, with the aim of optimizing patient comfort. To move in this direction, insurance provisions will likely need to be adapted.
3. Use of a portion of Geneva’s tax rebate to fund a fund for French medical staff
Proposal: Freeze the amounts of tax collected in Geneva from cross-border workers at 2023 levels (roughly 1.1 billion, with CHF 350 million and CHF 750 million for France and Geneva, respectively) and allocate the expected surplus from future years (due to the steady increase in the number of cross-border workers) to this fund.
4. Toward a cross-border social security card
Further explore the proposal by the MOT (France Cross-Border Operational Mission) for a cross-border health insurance card for residents of a specific area. It would be issued upon presentation of proof of residence and would provide access to hospitals, clinics, and outpatient care on both sides of the border. At this stage, the MOT envisions reimbursement at the French rate, with any additional costs automatically billed to the primary health insurance fund (CPAM) and the cross-border resident’s supplemental health insurance provider. This would require coordination between social security systems and health insurance funds, particularly to resolve the issue of cost differentials for healthcare between France and Switzerland.
5. Toward a resident card for the Greater Geneva metropolitan area or the Basel Eurodistrict
Following the example of the Züri City Card in the City of Zurich, it would provide preferential access to various public services, museums, exhibitions, festivals, sports clubs, and cultural or festive events that contribute to a shared sense of community, gradually fostering the conditions for a shared identity. The Zurich experience would enrich the discussion regarding what could be adapted for the cross-border metropolitan areas of Geneva and Basel, as well as the Île-de-France card in the areas of transportation and culture. The future card should offer specific services or discounts to young people, disadvantaged individuals, and the unemployed. It would apply to all residents, not just cross-border commuters, and would thus foster the emergence of a shared identity.
6. Mobility: complementarity, intermodality, flexible design
Based on our various discussions, information needs to be disseminated more effectively, and opportunities for dialogue should be organized among all stakeholders involved in the various modes of transportation in the Lake Geneva region to establish the broader perspective that is currently lacking, as each party currently focuses solely on the geographic area or mode of transportation that directly concerns them. The rail network in the Pays de Gex and connections to Geneva were not taken into account when the CEVA/Léman Express was launched, and are completely lacking. The restoration of the Tonkin railway line, the missing link in mobility around Lake Geneva, has been neglected for years. The slow speeds of the Geneva–Annecy and Lyon lines do not encourage their use.
7. Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and the EU
To develop flexible and innovative regulatory mechanisms to adapt this agreement to the specific realities of border regions, given the undeniable impact it has had, since its entry into force in 2002, on the rapid increase in the number of cross-border workers coming from ever greater distances and from all over, particularly in Ticino, Geneva, and Basel.
8. Environment: water, air, forests, landscapes
Ensure the cross-border flow of water along the watersheds of the Lake Geneva region, without restrictions or conditions regarding its downstream use. Ensure air and soil quality in cross-border urban areas that are becoming more densely populated. Define the territorial scope of forest resources based on local needs rather than systematically prioritizing domestically sourced wood (which may come from farther away). Re-examine the issue of the Salève quarries, whose concession expires in 2033 but for which an extension is already being considered, while also taking into account the foreseeable evolution of construction materials in the coming years.
9. Social
When determining the allocation of resources under the Geneva Financial Contribution (tax revenue shared with municipalities of residence), take into account not only the number of cross-border workers per municipality, but also the number of people living below the poverty line, with funds set aside for municipalities with the highest number of residents below this threshold to continue, for example, to enable them to find housing in the region and avoid being forced to leave. Also monitor changes in poverty rates in Geneva.
10. Culture: a major event celebrating European values
By emphasizing cultural complementarities, we aim to use the year 2028—which will mark the250th anniversary of Voltaire and Rousseau—to organize an event spanning Coppet, Geneva, Ferney, and Annemasse that will have a European scope and international impact, celebrating the fundamental values that were developed in this region and transcend borders: democracy, tolerance, equality, secularism, the general will, the social contract, etc.