News

The double taxation agreement between Switzerland and Jordan has entered into force. With a few exceptions, the provisions will apply from 1 January 2026.

At its meeting on 5 December 2025, the Federal Council discussed the results of the consultation on the ‘Stabilisation and further development of Swiss-EU relations’ package (Bilaterals III). The Federal Council noted that a clear majority of consultation participants were in favour of the Swiss-EU package. Several clarifications and improvements were called for regarding how the agreements would be implemented domestically. After careful consideration of these concerns, the Federal Council decided to make certain adjustments.

On 5 December, the Federal Council approved a draft negotiating mandate for a trade agreement with the USA. The parliamentary foreign affairs committees and the cantons will now be consulted on the draft. The main aim of the upcoming negotiations is to consolidate the tariff relief for Swiss goods imported into the USA; this tariff relief was reached as part of the joint statement of 14 November.

At its meeting on 5 December, the Federal Council appointed Daniel Frutig-Meier as chairman of the Board of Directors of RUAG International, the parent company of Beyond Gravity. He will first join the Board of Directors as a regular member in January 2026 and will take up his position as chairman of the Board of Directors at the 2026 Annual General Meeting.

The Federal Council's objective is for Switzerland to be one of the world's leading digital finance locations and to improve its competitiveness and attractiveness accordingly. During its meeting on 5 December 2025, the Federal Council was informed about the current status by the Federal Department of Finance (FDF).

During its meeting on 5 December 2025, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on amending the Insurance Oversight Act. With this proposal, the Federal Council wishes to strengthen Switzerland as a reinsurance location.

As part of the Schengen Association Agreement, Switzerland has decided to adopt an amendment to a European Union (EU) regulation aimed at reintroducing the visa requirement for third countries in certain circumstances. These circumstances may include exceeding migration thresholds, threats to public order and security, or human rights violations.

On 5 December, the Federal Council extended the agreement between Switzerland and the United Kingdom on the mutual recognition of conformity assessments. At the same time, three further product sectors from the trade agreement were incorporated. This maintains facilitated market access, meaning that additional product testing by a British conformity assessment body is still not necessary when exporting to the United Kingdom.

In 2025, more than 2 in 5 people use artificial intelligence (AI) to create content, texts or images. This figure rises to 4 in 5 among 15–24 year olds. The population is also increasingly exposed to fake news, hate speech and online scams. These are the main results from the latest Federal Statistical Office (FSO) Survey on the Use of ICT in Households and by Individuals.

The ETH Board was gratified to note that more than half of the newly appointed professors were women. This means that the two Federal Institutes of Technology are on course to achieve the long-term goal of increasing the proportion of women professors. At its meeting of 3/4 December 2025, the ETH Board discussed the next steps of the organisational development project “FIT for the Future”. In addition, it bade farewell to its long-standing member Susan Gasser at the end of her term of office, and to Peter Allenspach, a member of the PSI Board of Directors.

On Thursday, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) held the third Swiss CommUNITY Day on Data at Forum Fribourg, in collaboration with Digital Public Services Switzerland and the Fribourg cantonal statistics and data service (SSD). Data platforms were at the heart of this year’s event, which brought together members of the various FSO partner committees. The day yielded a productive exchange of best practice on the various aspects of data platforms, including infrastructure, security, interoperability and the use of AI.

At its meeting of 3/4 December 2025 and upon application of the President of ETH Zurich, Professor Joël Mesot, and the President of EPFL, Professor Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, the ETH Board appointed a total of seven women and eleven men as professors and awarded the title of professor to seven individuals. It also took note of the resignations of nine professors (two women and seven men) and thanked them for their services. In the last 12 months, the ETH Board has made a total of 28 new appointments for women and 24 for men; the proportion of women among these new appointments thus amounts to 54%.