Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion of a broad package of agreements to consolidate, deepen and expand the bilateral relations with the Swiss Confederation

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION Brussels, 13.6.2025 COM(2025) 309 final 2025/0162 (NLE) on the conclusion of a broad package of agreements to consolidate, deepen and expand the bilateral relations with the Swiss Confederation EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL • Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union and the Swiss Confederation (hereafter also referred to as “Switzerland”) are closely intertwined from an economic, historical, cultural, social and political perspective. The Union is Switzerland’s largest trading partner, while Switzerland is the Union’s fourth largest trading partner. Over 1.5 million Union citizens live in Switzerland and just under 450 000 Swiss nationals live in the Union. Every day several hundred thousand frontier workers cross the EU-Swiss border in both directions. The Union and Switzerland are tied together by multiple bilateral agreements. Through agreements on the free movement of persons, land transport, air transport, trade in agricultural products and mutual recognition in relation to conformity assessment, Switzerland takes part in the Union’s internal market1. Through the Agreement between the Union, the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation’s association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, Switzerland is also a Schengen associated country. During the COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation...