News

At their meeting in Bern on 13 July, President of the Swiss Confederation Guy Parmelin and the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle, announced that negotiations had concluded on a modernised free trade agreement between Switzerland and the United Kingdom (UK).

At this year’s High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), taking place from 7 to 16 July 2026 at the UN headquarters in New York, Switzerland will present its fourth voluntary national review (VNR) on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Local authorities can provide good examples of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) being pursued with a focus on impact. For this reason, the cities of Basel, Bern and Geneva will also be represented at a high level in the Swiss HLPF delegation.

Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will travel to Qatar on 13 and 14 July 2026 to attend the official funeral of the former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. As head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and Vice-President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr Cassis will represent Switzerland at the condolence ceremony in the presence of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Tuesday in Doha.

The Federal Tax Administration has updated the course listings and bonus shares 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Climate change, resource consumption, and the energy crisis pose major challenges for our society. Robotics could make a significant contribution to addressing these challenges – but researchers believe this will require a shift in thinking. In a manifesto published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, they propose a new scientific discipline: Sustainability Robotics. In future, robots should not only become more efficient and intelligent but also be specifically designed and deployed to contribute to environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

On 10.07.2026, the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER updated the notification and authorisation forms for money transfers pursuant to Art. 21 of the Ordinance on Measures against the Islamic Republic of Iran. From August onwards, only the new forms will be accepted. The new forms can be accessed here.

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 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.

In June 2026 the consumer sentiment index stood at –36 points. This is 4 points lower than in June 2025. The following sub-indices are lower than in June 2025: economic outlook, past financial situation, financial outlook and moment to make major purchases.

Fractures of the femoral neck are not simply due to insufficient bone density. Also significant is their nanostructure – the orientation of the collagen fibres that make up bones. This is suggested by research conducted by scientists at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI using a new X-ray technique.

Syria has been undergoing fundamental change since the fall of the Assad regime at the end of 2024. This has prompted Switzerland to step up its efforts to promote a political transition and the country's socio-economic development. Its existing humanitarian office was therefore upgraded to a cooperation office at the beginning of 2026. SDC Director General Patricia Danzi and Ambassador Monika Schmutz Kirgöz, head of the FDFA's MENA Division, officially opened the cooperation office in Damascus on 8 July 2026. They also saw for themselves what Switzerland is now doing on the ground.

Markus Mäder, State Secretary for Security Policy, will host Moldovan State Secretary Ghenadie Cojocaru on 9 July 2026 for the second security policy dialogue between the two defence ministries. The talks will focus on the deteriorated security situation in Europe, hybrid threats as well as on multilateral and bilateral cooperation.

Platform chemicals such as ethylene are most often made from fossil source materials and generate considerable CO₂ emissions. The EU-funded project REACT, in which Empa is one of the partners, aims to instead produce ethylene from industrial CO₂ waste, thus closing the carbon loop. The consortium is developing a functional electrolysis system for the conversion of CO₂ to ethylene.