As of: 26th of June 2025
At the end of December, the Federal Council announced the conclusion of negotiations with the EU. The new treaty package (“Bilateral III”) is intended to place relations between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) on a stable and long-term foundation. On June 13, 2025, the newly negotiated treaties were sent for consultation. Bilateral III is of great importance for Switzerland as a business location and includes, among other things, securing mutual market access, energy supply security, and international cooperation in education, innovation, and health.
Contents
With the “Bilateral III” treaty package, relations between Switzerland and the EU are to be stabilized and further developed. It encompasses the updating of existing agreements (e.g., free movement of persons, aviation, MRA) as well as new agreements on electricity, food safety, and health. At the same time, it also implements the clarification of the institutional framework demanded by the EU. A package approach was chosen for this purpose. Instead of regulating institutional questions comprehensively in a horizontally designed agreement, institutional questions are to be solved individually in each agreement on a sector-specific basis.
State
On June 13, 2025, the Federal Council released the negotiated treaty package for consultation. According to its own assessment, the package fulfills the objectives of the negotiation mandate. It includes an institutional regulation for existing and future internal market agreements, new agreements in the areas of electricity, food safety, and health, as well as participation in EU education and innovation programs. This represents a central milestone in relations with the EU.
Outlook
The Federal Council wants to complete the consultation by the end of 2025 and present the message to Parliament in early 2026.
Position
SwissHoldings welcomes the Federal Council’s efforts to further establish existing relations on a solid and permanent foundation based on a new treaty package with the EU (“Bilateral III”). Stable, reliable, and non-discriminatory relations with the EU as the most important trading partner of the Swiss economy are of central importance. The bilateral agreements are a proven instrument for securing market access and strengthening Switzerland’s international competitiveness. However, the new package also entails significant institutional changes — particularly regarding the dynamic adoption of EU law and the involvement of the ECJ in the dispute settlement mechanism. While these offer companies legal stability and more predictability, they simultaneously raise integration policy and economic questions. Therefore, it must be examined what scope Switzerland retains in future regulations and to what extent its economic policy sovereignty is preserved. The goal must be non-discriminatory market access and a reliable legal framework for internationally active companies. SwissHoldings will actively participate in the consultation to ensure that the package strengthens the competitiveness of the location and contributes to economic prosperity. At the same time, integration policy aspects such as dynamic law adoption and the role of the ECJ must be carefully examined for their effects on economic policy capacity to act.
