News

The Federal Tax Administration has published FATCA group requests pursuant to Article 12 paragraph 1 FATCA Act and final decrees pursuant to Article 5 paragraph 3 letter b of the FATCA Agreement.

On Friday 16 October 2026 in Bern, FDFA State Secretary Alexandre Fasel received Stewart Wood, Lord Wood of Anfield, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom, for the annual strategic dialogue between Switzerland and the UK. This year's talks focused on bilateral matters and on the challenging geopolitical context.

State Secretary Alexandre Fasel represented the FDFA at the sixth summit of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA), which concluded in Geneva on 15 October 2026. Over the course of two days, over 1,000 representatives from the private sector, philanthropy, science, diplomacy and politics discussed the implications of future scientific and technological breakthroughs. The focus was on how the opportunities and risks of new developments can be identified at an early stage and shaped collectively.

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Programme for the Development of Scientific Experiments (Prodex) is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Since 1986, the programme has provided funding for the development and use of scientific instruments and experiments. Switzerland played a key role in establishing Prodex and uses the programme to fund its space science experiments. In doing so, it promotes scientific excellence in ESA missions and missions run by international partners such as NASA, JAXA and CNES. The programme's achievements were celebrated in Zurich from 14 to 16 October.

On 15 and 16 October, Silvia Studinger, Deputy Director and Head of the Higher Education and General Education Division at the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, attended the informal meeting of EU education ministers. The meeting, which took place in Dublin, Ireland, focused on strategies to strengthen basic skills and improve the ability of education systems to anticipate future skills requirements.

The UN sanctions committee has amended the list of sanctioned individuals, companies and organizations. The SESAM database has been updated accordingly. On 4 March 2016 the Federal Council has adopted the Ordinance on the automatic application of the UN Security Council’s sanctions lists. Hence, the amendments of the UN Security Council’s sanctions lists enter into force in Switzerland without delay.

Every year, around 90,000 young people in Switzerland have their first sexual experiences. They need reliable information to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. LOVE LIFE is therefore specifically targeting 16- to 26-year-olds and building their health literacy through relatable information on safer sex.

Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis was in Yerevan on 15 October for meetings with the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and the minister of foreign affairs, Ararat Mirzoian. Discussions focused on the prospects for peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the strengthening of bilateral relations between Switzerland and Armenia and security challenges in Europe. In his capacity as chairman-in-office of the OSCE, Mr Cassis emphasised the importance of dialogue in consolidating peace and stability in the region.

A new preliminary report (aviation) is available on the website of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board STSB.

The future begins in the laboratory. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI are working on technologies to accelerate the energy transition, with a view to reconciling climate protection with security of supply. PSI is using science and innovation to meet one of the greatest challenges facing society today.

You could be interested by new pages which have been published on the OFCOM website between 01.10.2026 and 14.10.2026.

President Guy Parmelin met with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Bangkok on Thursday, 15 October, during his official visit to Thailand. The talks focused on bilateral relations, the free trade agreement negotiated between the European Free Trade Association and Thailand, and current international affairs. President Parmelin will then pay a presidential visit to Vietnam and, together with the EFTA partners, sign a free trade agreement.