As part of a broader package of bilateral agreements negotiated between the EU and the Swiss Confederation in 2024, Switzerland will join several R&I Union programmes, including Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, and EU4Health. The agreement on the participation to EU’s research programmes should be implemented retroactively as of 1 January 2025. Following its formal adoption by the European Council on 21 October 2025, the Commission and the Swiss authorities are due to sign the agreement in Bern on 10 November 2025 (we write at the end of October).
The complex procedure will then include the Council’s request for the EU Parliament consent and the completion of all procedures by the Swiss party necessary for the package to entry into force by the end of 2028. Only at this stage will the Council complete the process concluding the broad package of agreements, allowing them to enter into force. The package also includes updates of five agreements that give Switzerland access to the EU internal market, three new agreements on food safety, health and electricity, and a new agreement on Switzerland’s permanent and fair financial contribution to the EU’s economic and social cohesion.