US EditionEU and Switzerland Ink Deals Package for Closer Ties
The package consolidates over 120 agreements, harmonizing cooperation and including equal tuition fees for EU students at Swiss public universities, officials said.
- On March 2nd, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Swiss President Guy Parmelin signed a package of agreements in Brussels to deepen and harmonise EU–Swiss ties.
- To address a patchwork of existing accords, negotiations largely concluded in December 2024 after Switzerland's May 2021 walkaway and a three-year pause to streamline over 120 agreements.
- Bern will contribute 375 million euros a year to an EU fund, the accords create a common food safety area and allow Switzerland to join the EU internal electricity market.
- The package now needs approval from the Swiss parliament and is expected to be put to voters in a referendum, while Switzerland committed to tuition parity for EU students at most public Swiss universities.
- Framed as a stabilising move, the package aims to streamline over 120 agreements, with von der Leyen stating `The EU and Switzerland may be neighbours by geography but we are partners by choice`.
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28 Articles
Brussels and Bern want to put their shaky relationship on a new footing. The geostrategic and economic importance is great. However, before the treaty package comes into force, there is new trouble.
The European Union and Switzerland signed a package of agreements in Brussels today that will, among other things, make life easier for EU citizens working in Switzerland and for Swiss nationals in EU member states. The agreements, which will still have to pass through parliamentary and referendum procedures in Switzerland, will also make it easier for companies on both sides to do business.
The package replaces more than 120 agreements and aims to make cooperation more stable and easier.
After years of tough negotiations, the EU and Switzerland have new cooperation agreements. Opponents in Switzerland, however, speak of a "EU subjugation treaty".
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