Switzerland’s biggest issues get bogged down in parliament
Whether funding for state pensions, nuclear power plants or a free trade deal with Mercosur, the Swiss parliament is struggling to make progress on some of the country’s most important political projects. The result is delays and mounting pressure. A review of the summer session.
Although parliament was busy during the 2026 summer session, progress on major issues was limited.
The difficulties are perhaps most obvious in the outcome of the debate over financing the 13th monthly payment under Switzerland’s Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) pension scheme, approved by voters in a 2024 referendum. The additional payment will cost between CHF4 billion ($5 billion) and CHF5 billion a year. More than CHF4 billion will already be needed this year. Yet the financing package approved by parliament covers a little more than CHF1 billion annually through a 0.4 percentage point increase in value-added tax (VAT).
Minimum solution on funding for OASI
After lengthy negotiations between the two chambers, a centre-right majority in the House of Representatives prevailed. It rejected a proposal by the Senate and left-wing parties to raise payroll contributions as well. The decision narrowly avoided a complete collapse of the financing package but left most of the problem unresolved.
The consequences are significant. Pressure is mounting for a broader reform of the pensions system, likely reviving debate over raising the retirement age. At the same time, OASI will have to draw on its reserves for at least the next two years, adding to concerns about the system’s long-term finances. Swiss voters are also likely to be asked to approve the VAT increase in a referendum as early as November.
In effect, parliament has handed one of the country’s biggest political questions back to the electorate. The issue combines two sensitive topics – purchasing power and pensions – only a year before the next federal elections.
New EU agreements remain stuck
Little progress was made on another politically charged issue: whether Switzerland’s proposed new agreements with the European Union, known as the Bilaterals III, should require a majority of both voters and cantons to be approved. As a constitutional question, this is complex, but the political implications are straightforward. Requiring a majority of cantons would make approval more difficult because conservative, Eurosceptic cantons would carry greater weight. This question has therefore become highly contentious.
We reported on the question of the double majority:
More
Committee calls for double-majority approval of Swiss–EU accords
Even during preliminary discussions of a parliamentary proposal that could lead to a double majority requirement, tensions ran high. Committees and both chambers became embroiled in disputes over competences. The Senate eventually postponed a decision. The prevailing view is that the electorate should decide the matter.
Parliament backs ending the nuclear power ban
Another major dossier requiring close coordination between the two parliamentary chambers is Switzerland’s energy policy. At the centre of the debate is the popular initiative “Stop Blackouts”, which seeks to allow the construction of new nuclear power plants. The government has put forward a counterproposal that would lift the current ban on building new reactors.
Normally, parliament’s role in dealing with popular initiatives is relatively simple: it recommends whether voters should accept or reject them. But the nuclear issue remains so finely balanced that the House of Representatives could not reach a decision. Instead, it first sent the matter back to the government for further cost estimates.
On the final day of the session, however, the Senate forced the House of Representatives to act. Pressure grew on a small group of parliamentarians who had intended to abstain. The right-wing Swiss People’s Party was accused by left-wing and Green politicians of behaving unconstitutionally in putting pressure on dissenting members to toe the party line.
Parliament ultimately endorsed the government’s counterproposal, paving the way for new nuclear power plants to be built in Switzerland once again. A referendum is widely expected, meaning the issue is likely to be decided by voters.
Mercosur trade deal divides parliament
The House of Representatives also sent a strong signal on the Mercosur free trade agreement negotiated by the Swiss government with four South American countries. The House of Representatives rejected the deal outright. Left-wing and Green parties opposed the agreement because their demands for stronger social and environmental safeguards were not incorporated into the final text. Agricultural interests within the People’s Party and Centre Party also supported the opponents, arguing that Swiss farmers should be protected from competition with major agricultural exporters in the Mercosur bloc.
The Senate, however, is unwilling to abandon the agreement altogether. The House of Representatives will therefore have to reconsider the issue during a future session. One step forwards, two steps back: and the electorate will once again be called on to decide – if the deal survives its passage through parliament.
The Swiss government has spent many years negotiating the Mercosur accord. It forms part of a broader strategy to diversify the country’s trade relationships through free trade agreements. With the United States seen as a less predictable trading partner in recent years, the Swiss government views Mercosur as an important alternative. Now ratification will take longer, and business groups are frustrated. Switzerland is effectively competing with the EU to secure trade agreements, and if it loses time, it could give European companies a commercial advantage.
Limited progress on electronic signatures
Other legislative projects are also moving slowly. Following voters’ approval of a national electronic identity system, parliament has agreed in principle to begin testing electronic signature collection for initiatives and referendums, known as e-collecting. The measure was the only issue during the summer session to have a direct impact on the Swiss Abroad.
Parliament also took a number of decisions on smaller but politically significant issues:
Imports of foie gras will not be banned. Instead, parliament backed an indirect counterproposal designed to reduce long-term consumption in Switzerland.
Swiss citizens who voluntarily joined the French Resistance or Italian partisan groups during the Second World War are to be officially rehabilitated.
Dual French-Swiss citizens will no longer be able to avoid Swiss military service obligations by attending a one-day French civic and defence awareness ceremony.
People with hopeless levels of personal debt will be given a one-time opportunity to free themselves from unmanageable liabilities.
Edited by Samuel Jaberg. Adapted from German by Catherine Hickley/ts
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.