Swiss parliament finalises slimmed-down savings package

Councillors finalise slimmed-down relief package for the federal treasury Keystone-SDA

The federal budget relief package has been finalised. On Tuesday the House of Representatives ironed out the final differences in the bill. Compared to the government's proposal, the savings have been reduced by around 40%.

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The proposal to restructure the federal budget, known as relief package 27 or EP 27, was controversial in parliament. Two minor differences in the 2027 to 2029 financial plan were still outstanding. The House of Representatives agreed with the Senate on this.

On the one hand, this concerned the contributions for the education of the Swiss Abroad. Parliament wants to make fewer cuts here than the government. The same applies to quality and sales promotion for Swiss cheese, wine and other products. The parliamentarians decided against two-thirds of the cuts envisaged by the government.

These decisions are representative of the development of the entire bill. During the debates, the two chambers significantly reduced the volume of relief. Roughly speaking, the councils reduced the package by around CHF1 billion ($1.25 billion) or around 40% per year.

In absolute figures, the savings volume of the relief package for the federal budget in the years 2027 to 2029 is between CHF1.4 billion and CHF2 billion. The government had started at CHF2.4-3.1 billion.

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“If you think positively, this can certainly be seen as moderate,” said Senator Jakob Stark on behalf of the Finance Committee last week.

Next debate on money to follow soon

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter warned against cutting back. Any decision to forgo a relief measure would widen the gap in next year’s budgets, she said.

“What we can’t adjust in the relief package, we have to cut in the low-commitment area,” she stressed. This refers to areas in which the funds are not contractually fixed or prescribed by law, for example education, development aid and agriculture.

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Overall, the structural deficit in the 2027 budget is likely to amount to around CHF600 million. The government will take stock after the session, Keller-Sutter announced. She has already indicated that further cuts will be necessary.

The next savings debate is therefore likely to follow in the winter session in December at the latest. The electorate will probably be excluded from this, as the Greens have decided not to hold a referendum against the austerity package.

Adapted from German by AI/ts

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