New Agreements

Summary: The Bilateral Agreements III extend bilateral cooperation to previously uncovered areas: electricity, food safety and health. Furthermore, Switzerland gains access to major EU programmes such as Horizon Europe (research), Erasmus+ (education) and Digital Europe (digitalisation).

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¶ Three New Sectoral Agreements

In addition to updating existing agreements, three entirely new subject areas are incorporated into bilateral cooperation [1][3]:

¶ 1. Electricity Agreement

The Electricity Agreement is one of the longest-demanded new agreements. Switzerland and the EU have been negotiating the integration of Switzerland into the European internal electricity market for over 15 years [1].

Key contents:

• Mutual market access for electricity
• Swiss participation in European grid coordination
• Common rules for cross-border electricity trading
• Recognition of Swiss hydropower as storage and balancing energy

Significance for Switzerland:
As a transit country for electricity and a location of significant hydropower storage, Switzerland is closely integrated into the European electricity grid. Without a formal agreement, Switzerland has been operating in a regulatory grey area for years -- with growing risks to security of supply, particularly in the winter months [1].

¶ 2. Food Safety

The Agreement on Food Safety creates a harmonised framework for trade in foodstuffs and agricultural products [1][3].

Key contents:

• Mutual recognition of food controls
• Harmonised food safety standards
• Rapid Alert System for food risks
• Link to the existing Agriculture Agreement

Significance:
Switzerland exports foodstuffs worth several billion francs annually to the EU. A formal agreement reduces trade barriers and simplifies border controls [1].

¶ 3. Health

The Health Agreement enables deeper cooperation in health crises and pandemics [1][3].

Key contents:

• Swiss participation in the EU health security framework
• Cooperation in pandemic response and cross-border health threats
• Access to EU procurement mechanisms for vaccines and medicines
• Exchange of health data and best practices

Significance:
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that without formal integration into EU health mechanisms, Switzerland was at a disadvantage in vaccine procurement and crisis coordination [1].

¶ Programme Participation

A key component of the Bilateral Agreements III is the restoration of access to EU programmes that had been blocked or restricted since the InstA termination [1][3]:

¶ Horizon Europe (Research)

Full association with Horizon Europe is of central importance for Switzerland as a research location. Since the downgrading in 2021, Swiss researchers could not apply for ERC Grants as principal investigators or coordinate EU research consortia [1].

¶ Erasmus+ (Education)

Switzerland has not been fully participating in Erasmus+ since 2014 and had funded a national replacement programme ("Swiss-European Mobility Programme"). The re-association enables full participation in European educational exchange [1].

¶ Digital Europe

¶ Further Programmes

The Bilateral Agreements III additionally provide for participation in EU programmes in the areas of culture, youth and sport [1].

¶ Funding of Programme Participation

Switzerland pays a financial contribution for participation in EU programmes, calculated based on gross domestic product (GDP). The exact amounts are determined for each programme period [1].

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¶ Sources

[1] FDFA (2026). Switzerland-EU Package (Bilateral III). Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. [Open Access]

[3] GTAI (2026). Agreements of the Switzerland-EU package signed. Germany Trade & Invest. [Open Access]

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Last updated: March 2026