The EU and Switzerland rolled out an extensive set of agreements intended to deepen and broaden their bilateral ties. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Swiss Confederation President Guy Parmelin signed the package on Monday.
Its goal is to give modern, harmonised rules for accessing the EU internal market in key sectors, providing economic benefits for both sides. By aligning standards and regulations in closely linked fields, the deals will deliver legal certainty, streamline the trade of goods such as medical devices and food, and ease cross‑border supply chains for companies.
The package also introduces more uniform rules for people who live, work or study across the EU‑Switzerland frontier. Switzerland will help shape the legislation in the covered areas and will have a say in how the rules evolve.
In addition to updates to existing agreements on air and land transport, free movement of persons, and mutual recognition of conformity assessments, the new suite covers food safety, electricity, health, and a fair financial contribution from Switzerland to EU cohesion policy. Rules governing Swiss participation in the EU space programme are included, as well as a protocol on parliamentary cooperation and a joint declaration to establish a high‑level dialogue on bilateral relations.
