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communities should play a support-
ive role and, at the last stage and for
common services, there is the state
itself. Our main goal is to promote
family policy, which remains the
core of a balanced society. A society
that wants to build on firm founda-
tions must focus on its family policy.
Another key issue of our policies is to
strengthen small and medium enter-
prises, as well as reinforcing federal-
ism, which is also one of the Swiss
recipes for success. Beyond that, we
are considered as an open-minded
and humanistic political party.

Switzerland's European policy is one
of the most delicate issues right now
and it is extremely polarized. You
may recall that the European Union
was created initially by Christian
Democrats and we still feel part of
this heritage. I always say that Swit-
zerland is our country, but Europe
is our future. We feel responsible
for the ways in which we forge links
with the European Union. My party
has also adopted a humanistic ap- Raymond Loretan with Guy Mettan at the book
proach to the immigration and asy-
lum policy, always keeping in mind signing event which took place at the Librairie
that human dignity must remain at Orientale organized by Alain Bittar
the centre of our concerns.

Q: Talking about Geneva additional key problems. It is said that lutely vital in running our economy.
Geneva is the smallest of the big ci- Furthermore, many Swiss citizens are
What seems important concerning ties, and it certainly has the problems living in France, which is something
the international community is that of a big city, such as security issues, that has benefited the local economy
Geneva and Switzerland remain mobility, housing problems as well as there. To create this "big Geneva"
aware not only of their international rulings on taxation. These are prob- is a beautiful project, but a compli-
vocation and their fidelity to their lems that are there to be resolved, cated one due to the complexity of
humanitarian tradition, but also the but they are still challenging from the governance structure between
importance of maintaining the inter- the financing point of view. And it is Geneva and France. In addition, in
national and diplomatic community vital to have a regional perspective the current political climate attitudes
in Switzerland. In order to achieve that includes the Canton of Vaud and towards immigration have become
this there is a great deal of work to be the French departments of Ain and a sensitive issue which sometimes
done in many areas. Haute Savoie. Our neighbours must degenerates into some kinds of xeno-
be included in the construction of phobic movements that are danger-
One of these areas is continuing to im- the Greater Geneva area in a win-win ous if not kept under control.
prove the welcoming of the interna- approach adopting well-balanced
tional community in practical terms, solutions. Of course, Switzerland is expensive.
through better infrastructure, accep- It should be said that this affects
tance, receiving the NGOs, etc. There Q: Do you think that these other not only foreigners but also the
are also efforts to be made in order partners are willing to accept the Swiss population itself. Some inter-
to break down the barriers between Greater Geneva? national organizations are consi-
the local population in Geneva and dering moving elsewhere because
the international community. This As long as it is balanced, I believe that of the high costs, the availability of
is a long-term objective. Every- it is in their direct interests; it creates better premises -- Geneva faces
one must make an effort, including jobs and encourages increased eco- tough competition. However, what
the international community itself. nomic activity. Every day in Geneva one should also bear in mind is the
we receive thousands of French wor- high concentration of expertise,
If you then examine the other issues kers living on the other side of the the networking opportunities here
in Geneva, these are in my opinion border. Their contribution is abso- that are really unique. Between

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