What the canton can do

Read the PDF edition (2 pages)

The Canton of Ticino has no power to negotiate with the European Union or with Italy. Foreign policy and the law of financial markets are federal matters. The canton can nonetheless influence the federal position in three ways. It takes part in the consultation procedures on international agreements, which for the package ran in 2025. It can raise the interests of its financial centre in the regular dialogue between the Confederation and Italy, where the cross-border workers agreement of 2020 and the removal of Switzerland from the Italian blacklist showed that progress on one dossier can be linked to another.¹ It can also act through its members of the Federal Assembly, whose parliamentary interventions led to the Federal Council's report of 2021 on market access to Italy, cited in Chapter E.IV.

The canton's own instruments lie elsewhere. It controls cantonal taxation, economic promotion and the conditions for the establishment of firms and families. It can support the training of financial professionals, as it does through SUPSI and USI. It can also cooperate with Lombardy within the Regio Insubrica and in cross-border projects. None of these instruments changes the law of market access. They can, however, strengthen the factors that make Lugano attractive once a client has chosen to come, whether as a resident or as the owner of a Swiss account.

Essentials. The Switzerland–EU package was materially concluded on 20 December 2024, initialled on 21 May 2025 and signed on 2 March 2026. The Federal Council adopted its dispatch on 13 March 2026. Parliament is debating whether a majority of the cantons is required. A final decision is not expected before 2027. The package updates five agreements, adds agreements on electricity, food safety and health and introduces dynamic adoption and dispute settlement. It contains no agreement on financial services, so that Swiss banks keep only passive access to Italian and other EU private clients.

Notes

See Chapter H.I on the agreement of 23 December 2020 and Chapter E.V on the removal of Switzerland from the Italian list; the decree of 20 July 2023 was adopted under the law ratifying the cross-border workers agreement (Marvulli, above). ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.

English

Contact

Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

Get in touch →

What the canton can do

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?