Bern, 30 June 2023
On 5 and 6 July, Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider will be on a working visit to Poland and Slovakia, two countries neighbouring Ukraine that have taken in large numbers of refugees. Ms Baume-Schneider will visit several aid projects for Ukrainian refugees that are co-financed by Switzerland. She will also meet her counterparts in both countries for bilateral exchanges.
The trip will focus on exchanges with authorities, international organisations and NGOs on how the two countries are dealing with the large number of people from Ukraine seeking protection, Swiss support under the Migration Framework Credit of the second Swiss contribution to EU member states particularly affected by the conflict in Ukraine, and EU reforms in the area of migration and asylum.
In Poland on 5 July, Ms Baume-Schneider will visit a UNICEF project in Łódź. Switzerland supports the reception, integration and protection of refugee children in foster families there through UNICEF. Ms Baume-Schneider will also exchange views with Deputy Minister of the Interior Paweł Szefernaker and with various international organisations and NGOs active on the ground.
In Slovakia on 6 July, Ms Baume-Schneider will visit the Gabčíkovo Humanitarian Centre, which houses around 1,000 Ukrainian refugees, and the Innovation Centre of the Faculty of Education at Comenius University in Bratislava, which trains social workers. Switzerland supports the protection and integration of refugee children in Slovakia through UNICEF, and the above-mentioned education project at Comenius University as the main sponsor together with the USA. Ms Baume-Schneider will also meet State Secretary Ľubomír Šablica in Slovakia and various NGOs working on the ground.
Accompanying Elisabeth Baume-Schneider on the trip will be National Council members Corina Gredig (GLP/ZH), Niklaus-Samuel Gugger (EVP/ZH), Pierre-André Page (SVP/FR), Jon Pult (SP/GR) and Céline Widmer (SP/ZH) in addition to the members of her official delegation.
Source – Swiss Government