The EU Council has given its green light to Switzerland joining European Union programmes such as Horizon Europe, Euratom Research and Training, ITER/Fusion for Energy, Digital Europe, Erasmus+, as well as EU4Health.
The agreement regarding Switzerland’s association to EU programmes forms part of a broader package of bilateral agreements negotiated between the EU and the Swiss Confederation in 2024. It is the first agreement of the package that will be signed and retroactively implemented as of the beginning of this year.
“Our partnership with Switzerland is longstanding and based on common values,” said Denmark’s Minister for European affairs Marie Bjerre, for the EU presidency: “In the current complex and evolving geopolitical context, our relationship needs to be expanded and modernised to be better fit for the future. This is exactly what we achieved today with our decision on Switzerland’s association to EU research and innovation programmes as of the beginning of this year.”
EU and Switzerland officially confirmed the completion of negotiations for a broad package of agreements to deepen and expand their bilateral relationship in December 2024 .
The package includes a wide range of elements: the update of five agreements which already give Switzerland access to the EU internal market (air transport, land transport, the free movement of persons, conformity assessment and trade in agricultural products), three new agreements on food safety, health and electricity, a new agreement on Switzerland’s permanent and fair financial contribution to EU’s economic and social cohesion and a new agreement that will allow Switzerland to participate in several EU programmes. A separate agreement covers Switzerland’s participation in the EU Space Agency, for activities related to the Galileo and EGNOS components of the Union Space programme.
Provisional application is foreseen with effect from 1 January 2025. This approach will allow to give effect to the transitional arrangements that the Commission granted to Switzerland during the negotiations of the broader package of agreements, for award procedures implementing the 2025 commitment appropriations.
The conclusion of the agreement regarding Switzerland’s participation in EU programmes is foreseen as part of the wider package only if Switzerland will complete its procedures necessary for the entry into force of the package by the end of 2028.
Following today’s adoption, the Commission is authorised to sign the agreement with the Swiss authorities. Signature is planned to take place in Bern on 10 November.
