Published on 13 June 2025

Package Switzerland-EU

Both Switzerland and the EU are interested in maintaining smooth and orderly relations. For Switzerland, tailored participation in the EU single market is important; for the EU, the integrity of its single market and equal rules for all participants are essential. This balance can be achieved with the Swiss–EU package. Like the Bilaterals I and II, this package comprises a number of thematic elements, including new agreements and institutional solutions. Negotiations based on the package approach began in mid-March 2024. The substantive conclusion was reached in December 2024, followed by a formal conclusion in May 2025 with the initialling in Bern. In June 2025, the Federal Council approved the agreements with the EU and opened the consultation process. The parliamentary phase begins once the consultation process has been completed and the dispatch has been submitted to Parliament.

Chart depicting the elements of the Federal Council's package approach.

Thanks to the Bilaterals I (1999) and II (2004), relations between Switzerland and the EU have developed over the past two decades to the benefit of both sides. The bilateral approach, embarked upon after Switzerland's unsuccessful bid to join the EEA in 1992, has shown itself to be robust and capable of achieving majority support. The EU is prepared to continue along this path, subject to the condition that the same rules apply to all participants in the EU single market. This also pertains to Switzerland with regard to those market sectors in which it participates – air and land transport, free movement of persons, technical barriers to trade, agriculture – or aims to participate in the future – electricity, food safety.

‘Institutional elements’ are to ensure the harmonisation of legislation. These can be used to stabilise the bilateral path and to create legal certainty. However, the Federal Council also wishes to expand the bilateral approach in order to support Switzerland's heavily export-based economy, improve the security of the population and ensure its prosperity. The approach is to be developed further to include participation in additional areas of the EU single market, such as electricity and food safety, as well as a new cooperation agreement in the area of health. At the same time, the Federal Council is seeking to safeguard wage levels, avert an influx of immigrants into the social security system, uphold direct democratic rights and preserve sovereignty. It also wants to strengthen Switzerland as a location for research and innovation, a goal the cooperation agreements on research (Horizon), education (Erasmus+) and culture are best suited to achieve.

The concerns of both Switzerland and the EU were put on the table and negotiated at the same time. The various elements provided room for manoeuvre in the search for solutions. The negotiations, which began on 18 March 2024 and were substantively concluded at the end of 2024, were formally concluded in May 2025. At the same time, discussions at domestic policy level were held with the institutional partners (cantons and Parliament) and social and economic partners. In June 2025, the Federal Council approved the agreements with the EU and opened the consultation process, which will last until the end of October. An explanatory report published with the opening of this consultation process sets out the results of the negotiations and the legislative amendments that will be required in Switzerland (domestic implementation).

For the period from the end of 2024 until the package enters into force, Switzerland and the EU have agreed on transitional rules governing the scope of their partnership. The dispatch to Parliament is expected to be adopted in the first quarter of 2026. Only the agreement on Switzerland's participation in EU programmes (EUPA) should be signed by the Federal Council in late autumn 2025. This will enable Switzerland to be associated retroactively to Horizon Europe, the Euratom programme and the Digital Europe programme as of 1 January 2025.

The package elements

  • New agreements: electricity, food safety, and health
  • Ensure participation in EU programmes: research, innovation, education, youth, sport, culture and other areas
  • Institutional elements: dynamic adoption of legislation, uniform interpretation of agreements, monitoring, dispute settlement
  • Provisions on state aid in the air and land transport agreements and the future electricity agreement
  • Free movement of persons: principles and exemptions with regard to immigration and wage protection
  • Stabilisation of the Swiss contribution: legally binding mechanism for future contributions
  • Political dialogue: means of steering the bilateral approach

Explanatory video on the Switzerland-EU package – Why this package?

Other videos on the Switzerland-EU package:

Further information on the consultation process

In addition, you can refer to the Federal Chancellery's official page on the consultation processes to view all the documents submitted for consultation, including the lists of recipients.

All statements can be viewed on the Federal Chancellery website.

Contact

Europe Division
State Secretariat STS-FDFA
Federal Palace East
3003 Bern