Switzerland’s president Guy Parmelin and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen have signed a broad package of agreements aimed at deepening and expanding the EU-Switzerland relationship.
The package establishes a modern framework for the EU and Switzerland, enabling frictionless access to a market of 460 million consumers in key sectors, delivering economic benefits to both sides. By aligning standards and rules in closely integrated areas, it will simplify trade in goods like medical devices and food products, and ease cross-border supply for businesses on both sides of the border.
The package will also ensure more consistent rules for individuals who live, work, or study across the EU-Swiss border. Switzerland will contribute to the development of legislation in areas covered by the package and will have the opportunity to influence these rules as they are being designed.
Commission president von der Leyen welcomed the “landmark package”: “By modernising and deepening our ties across key sectors – from trade and transport to health and energy – we are strengthening legal certainty, fostering innovation, and creating new opportunities for our citizens and businesses,” she said.
The package includes updates to four existing agreements, which already give Switzerland access to the EU internal market, regarding air transport, land transport, the free movement of persons and mutual recognition of conformity assessment. Bringing these agreements to a modern standard will enable citizens and businesses on both sides to fully benefit from the rights the agreements provide and will create a level playing field for business.
New agreements are also introduced:
- A new agreement on food safety will establish a common food safety area covering all dimensions of the food chain.
- A new agreement on electricity will allow the participation of Switzerland in the EU internal electricity market.
- A new agreement on health will allow Switzerland to take part in EU mechanisms and bodies addressing serious cross-border threats to health. That concerns notably the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the Early Warning and Response System.
- A new agreement introduces a permanent and fair financial contribution by Switzerland to economic and social cohesion within the Union, reflecting the level of partnership and cooperation between the parties.
- A new agreement will cover Switzerland’s participation in the EU Agency for the Space Programme, for activities related to the Galileo and European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) components of the Union Space Programme.
As part of the package, both sides update the dispute resolution provisions in the agreement on trade in agricultural products to bring them in line with the latest free trade agreements to which the European Union and Switzerland are respective parties.
Each agreement allowing participation of Switzerland in the EU market, and include dispute resolution provisions, and state aid disciplines will apply where relevant.
The package includes a Joint Declaration on the establishment of a high-level dialogue on the broad bilateral package and the possible further development of the bilateral relations between the European Union and Switzerland.
In addition, the package includes an agreement on Switzerland’s participation in EU programmes, signed in November 2025. This opens the way for Switzerland to take part in the activities of Horizon Europe, Euratom Research and Training, ITER/F4E (Fusion for Energy), Digital Europe, Erasmus+, as well as EU4Health. Its early signature and provisional application enabled the EU and Swiss entities to engage in cooperation on research already in the current work programmes.
