Driver 2: relations with the European Union

The package and its timetable

The second driver concerns Switzerland’s relationship with its largest trading partner. After the Federal Council broke off negotiations on an institutional framework agreement in May 2021, Bern and Brussels negotiated a broader package that updates the existing bilateral agreements. On 2 March 2026 the President of the Confederation, Guy Parmelin, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, signed the package in Brussels. The signatures fixed the texts, but the agreements can enter into force only after approval by the Swiss Parliament and by the voters, a popular vote being expected in 2027 or 2028.¹ On 13 March 2026 the Federal Council adopted its dispatch to Parliament, a document of 1,086 pages. The package comprises new agreements on electricity, health and food safety, three new federal laws, amendments to thirty-six existing laws and ninety-four EU legal acts relevant to Switzerland. The Federal Council proposed an optional referendum, in which only the popular majority would decide.²

The question of the double majority of people and cantons has since become the hinge of the parliamentary process. On 11 June 2026 the Council of States postponed a decision and instructed its State Policy Committee to prepare a proposal. The chamber expected a full debate in the autumn session and a final decision not before 2027.³ On 30 June 2026 the committee adopted, by seven votes to six, a constitutional amendment that would authorise ratification and exempt the modified agreement on the free movement of persons from the immigration article. Because it amends the Constitution, the proposal would require the approval of both people and cantons.⁴ The National Council’s committee took the same line.⁵ In early September 2026 the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of States recommended approval of the package by nine votes to three. Deliberations in the upper chamber were set for the end of September. Polls taken in the summer indicated majority public support for the treaties.⁶

The missing chapter on financial services

For the financial centre, the package matters as much for what it leaves out as for what it contains. Financial services form no part of it. The Swiss Bankers Association, in its consultation response of 21 October 2025, welcomed the package in principle but pointed out that the problem of market access persists precisely because the financial sector is not covered. Swiss banks still have no possibility of actively providing cross-border banking and securities services in the European Union, while EU banks enjoy broad access to Switzerland. The association therefore demanded concrete progress on market access and a continuation of the financial regulatory dialogue.⁷

The practical pressure is rising at the same time. Under the sixth Capital Requirements Directive (CRD VI), the requirement for banks from third countries to establish a licensed branch before carrying on core banking activities such as deposit-taking and lending in a member state applies from 11 January 2027. Agreements concluded before 11 July 2026 are grandfathered until they expire. Reverse solicitation, intragroup business and MiFID services remain outside the requirement, but reverse solicitation is interpreted narrowly and suits individual transactions better than scalable business.⁸ Chapter K.III has shown how this regime affects the DACH market in particular. The EU relationship therefore contains two distinct uncertainties. The first is whether the package is approved at all, which determines the general climate and the stability of market access for industry, research and electricity. The second is whether an approved package opens a path towards an arrangement for financial services, modelled perhaps on the mutual recognition approach of the Berne agreement with the United Kingdom.

Notes

SRF News, “Vertragspaket Schweiz–EU: Was Parmelins Unterschrift genau bedeutet”, March 2026, https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/vertragspaket-schweiz-eu-was-parmelins-unterschrift-genau-bedeutet. ↩
blue News, “Federal Council hands over Bilaterals III EU treaty package to Parliament”, 13 March 2026, https://www.bluewin.ch/en/news/switzerland/federal-council-hands-over-bilaterals-iii-eu-treaty-package-to-parliament-li.3142216. ↩
Swiss Parliament, news release of 11 June 2026, https://www.parlament.ch/de/services/news/Seiten/2026/20260611132605704194158159026_bsd108.aspx. ↩
Südostschweiz (Keystone-SDA), “Kommission hält an Ständemehr für die EU-Verträge fest”, July 2026, https://www.suedostschweiz.ch/schweiz-und-welt/kommission-haelt-an-staendemehr-fuer-die-eu-vertraege-fest-2-1945944. ↩
SRF News, “Kommissionen fordern Volks- und Ständemehr für EU-Paket”, 2026, https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/abstimmung-bilaterale-iii-kommissionen-fordern-volks-und-staendemehr-fuer-eu-paket. ↩
Plattform J, “Beratungen gehen in heisse Phase”, 4 September 2026, https://www.plattformj.ch/artikel/246435/. ↩
Swiss Bankers Association, Stellungnahme: Stabilisierung und Weiterentwicklung der Beziehungen Schweiz–EU, 21 October 2025, https://www.swissbanking.ch/_Resources/Persistent/5/8/4/2/584209511f34011b03cb8a9b59c7f887fb8f5b2f/Stellungnahme%20Schweizerische%20Bankiervereinigung%20-%20Stabilisierung%20und%20Weiterentwicklung%20der%20Beziehungen%20Schweiz-EU.pdf. ↩
Loyens & Loeff, “New rules for Swiss banks serving EU customers under CRD VI”, https://www.loyensloeff.com/insights/news--events/news/new-rules-for-swiss-banks-serving-eu-customers-under-crd-vi/. ↩

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 September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

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Driver 2: relations with the European Union

The package and its timetable

The missing chapter on financial services

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?