In December, Switzerland and the EU reached a groundbreaking cooperation agreement to revamp their relationship after a decade of negotiations.
This agreement, long advocated for by Renew Europe, aims to strengthen ties between Swiss and European citizens, modernise common rules, facilitate daily life for citizens and businesses, ensure balanced economic development and solidarity.
The EU is Switzerland's main trading partner and Switzerland is the EU's fourth largest trading partner. Today, around 1.4 million EU citizens live in Switzerland, representing 16% of the country's population, while 400,000 Swiss citizens live in EU countries.
The agreement includes:
- New bilateral agreements in crucial areas such as electricity, health and food safety
- Dynamic alignment of existing and future agreements with EU law
- Swiss participation in European programmes (e.g., Horizon Europe, Creative Europe)
- Regular Swiss financial contributions to the EU for social and economic cohesion
The European Parliament will examine the agreement before ratification and Switzerland will likely hold a referendum for approval.
"The long-awaited agreement between the EU and Switzerland is an early Christmas gift that strengthens our ties and creates new win-win opportunities. It strengthens Switzerland's integration into the European single market and simplifies a complicated pile of almost 120 bilateral agreements. Just as this season brings people together, this agreement draws us closer in Europe," said Karin Karlsbro MEP (Liberalerna, SE), member of the Northern Cooperation and relations with Switzerland Delegation.