Swiss upper house advances EU treaty package, backs referendum

Switzerland’s Council of States, the upper house of parliament, has completed its debate on the EU treaty package and voted to put it to the people and cantons, SRF reports. The package still needs to be considered by the National Council, and the electricity agreement will be debated by the upper house at a later date.

After about 24 hours of debate, the chamber included a mandatory referendum on international treaties in the proposal and approved a separate constitutional amendment to enable a vote.

Wages, immigration and payments

On wage protection, the Council of States followed the approach agreed by the EU, the Federal Council and social partners. Companies posting workers to Switzerland would no longer have to pay a deposit upfront. A deposit could be required only if a company had previously failed to meet its obligations. The chamber also approved the controversial Measure 14, aimed at improving protection for employees facing dismissal. SRF described the vote as a step forward for left-wing parties and trade unions.

If the package is approved, Switzerland would make annual payments to the EU from 2030 to 2036. The Council of States approved three funding credits, two for the cohesion contribution and one for migration, totalling 3.3 billion francs.

The chamber also approved an immigration-related levy that the Federal Council could seek when invoking the safeguard clause. The government must invoke the clause if immigration from the EU leads to “serious economic or social problems”, assessed using thresholds. EU citizens moving to Switzerland would also have to provide a criminal record extract.

Under another decision related to the EU’s citizenship directive, the chamber voted to restrict permanent residence rights for EU nationals. People receiving social assistance and unemployed people would generally be barred from applying for the new status, and their five-year qualifying period would start again.

State aid and transport

The Council of States finalised a new law to monitor state aid and approved the creation of a Swiss oversight authority to review subsidies and prevent distortions of competition in the single market. In land transport and electricity, the federal government, cantons and municipalities would have to notify the authority of new state aid above a set threshold, unless an exemption applied. The European Commission performs this role for EU member states.

The chamber also approved Switzerland’s domestic implementation of the modernised land transport agreement, in line with the Federal Council’s proposal.

Next steps and remaining agreements

The full dossier now goes to the National Council, which is expected to hold a lengthy debate during its winter session. A nationwide vote before the autumn 2027 elections is possible, but the timetable would be demanding. The Council of States is expected to begin discussing the electricity agreement in December; the parliamentary committee responsible has not yet completed its work on it.

The package also includes a food safety agreement intended to establish a shared food safety area and help identify health-threatening food early. A health agreement would strengthen cross-border coordination with the EU during health crises such as pandemics and give Switzerland access to EU health security mechanisms and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

An alliance of the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and parts of the Free Democratic Party and the Centre Party generally prevailed in the Council of States. The Swiss People’s Party opposed the package, while prominent figures in the Free Democratic Party and the Centre Party also expressed scepticism. SRF reported that debate showed the dossier could quickly lose support, with the dynamic adoption of EU law among the biggest points of contention.