Switzerland Aims to Sign Deal With European Union by Early 2026

(Bloomberg) — Switzerland aims to sign a deal with the European Union to secure its access to the bloc’s single market early next year, with a possible plebiscite still looming.

The Swiss government determined a timeline with the European Commission that tentatively foresees the signing for a set of agreements in the first quarter of 2026, it said in a statement on Wednesday. 

A consultation period in Switzerland, allowing public stakeholders to comment on the accord, is set to start before the summer of this year, the government said.

The deal between Switzerland and its most important trading partner is part of a multi-year effort to renew economic ties —previously regulated by a complicated patchwork of more than 100 bilateral treaties.

The two parties completed negotiations in December, which resulted in a reworked immigration safeguard clause, as well as treaties on Swiss payments to the EU, science funding, rail transport and electricity.

Concurrently, negotiations between employers and labor unions are ongoing in Switzerland on how to shield the country’s high wages from cheap EU labor. It’s widely expected that ratifying the EU deal will require a plebiscite. To win popular support in such a ballot, backing from both groups will likely prove crucial for the government.

 

 

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