Federal Council, SBB, vacations You need to know about these changes in April

In April 2025, numerous changes and adjustments await you again. blue News provides you with an overview.

Train connections to Europa-Park, new travel permits and restrictions on vacations in France. In April 2025 there will be numerous changes again.

blue News provides you with an overview.

Martin Pfister, the newly elected Central Federal Councillor on 12 March, takes office as the new head of the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS).

Pfister, himself a colonel in the Swiss Armed Forces, succeeds Viola Amherd, who has held the post since 2018.

Operators of critical infrastructure must report cyberattacks with a high potential for damage to the federal government from April 1. The Federal Council is bringing a corresponding amendment to the law and the associated ordinance into force. The law provides for fines in the event that authorities, organizations or companies fail to comply with the reporting obligation.

However, the legal basis for this will not come into force until October 1. The reporting obligation will therefore apply for the first six months, but there will be no sanctions for failing to report. The reporting obligation applies, for example, to the Federal Council and Parliament, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, the army, universities, banks, healthcare and energy providers, the SRG and railroad companies.

According to the decree, cyber attacks must be reported to the Federal Office for Cybersecurity within 24 hours of their discovery.

From April 2, a passport alone will no longer be sufficient for travel to the United Kingdom. An electronic travel authorization (ETA) is also required.

The permit for travel to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland costs 10 British pounds per person, which is the equivalent of around 11 francs. The permit is valid for two years and only needs to be renewed after that. This can be done via an app or online.

Amsterdam is introducing an environmental zone for boats in the city center, which is criss-crossed by canals. From April, only recreational vessels powered by electricity or hydrogen and rowing boats will be welcome there, the Dutch capital announced. Anyone who does not adhere to the new rules will initially receive a warning, and fines will be imposed from the summer.

Temporary exemptions will apply until 2030 for owners of boats with petrol and diesel engines who have already received a permit to sail for several years for a fee. Historic museum boats are also exempt from the regulation. Continuous waterways on which boats and ships cross Amsterdam are not included in the new environmental zone.

Train connections from Switzerland to Europa-Park are being expanded: From April 12, 2025, the so-called Railcoaster will run from Zurich and offer connections in Basel for travelers from western Switzerland and the Mittelland region.

The journey will be made on the long-distance Giruno train, as announced by SBB. The train runs on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Tickets are available from 95 francs.

There are also changes for travel to France: the French toll is gradually being converted to an electronic system ("free flow"). In addition, the new Zones à Trafic Limité (ZTL), comparable to Italian traffic zones, will apply from April 2025.

Unauthorized vehicles will be banned from driving in this zone, either generally or limited to certain times of day.

As of April 1, 2025, the bonus for photovoltaic systems with an inclination angle of at least 75 degrees will be significantly increased. For integrated systems, it will rise from CHF 250 to CHF 400 per kW of installed capacity, and from CHF 100 to CHF 200 for attached and free-standing systems.

This provides an incentive to build façade systems that produce a lot of electricity in the winter months. Systems with a total output of 100 kW or more will receive the remuneration rate for integrated systems (CHF 330/kW) for outputs below 100 kW and CHF 250/kW for the installed output above this.

Also as of April 1, 2025, the performance contribution of the one-off remuneration will be reduced by CHF 20 each for the rapidly growing market segments of systems with an output of less than 30 kW and for attached and free-standing systems with an output of 100 kW or more.

There will be no reduction in the 30 to 100 kW output class, which is growing less strongly. This will make it more financially attractive to build larger systems and to use as much of the suitable roof area as possible to generate electricity.

The Federal Council is lowering the interest rate on Covid-19 loans from April 1. For loans of up to CHF 500,000, interest of 0.25 percent will now be payable as of March 31. Loans over half a million francs will have to pay interest at 0.75 percent.

The Covid-19 Solidarity Guarantee Act regulates the interest rates for loans as at March 31. The national government takes into account the key interest rate of the Swiss National Bank (SNB)

From April 1, 2025, the federal government is expected to be able to evaluate data from cell phones, computers and other data carriers to identify asylum seekers. The implementation of a bill passed by Parliament will lead to additional financial and personnel costs.

According to earlier information from the Federal Council, the new tasks such as reading out data carriers, temporary storage and evaluation will in future be carried out by employees in the six federal asylum centers. It can be assumed that additional staff will be required for this - six additional full-time positions and six additional part-time positions.

With material from Keystone-SDA.