Green light from the 27 to the Switzerland-EU agreements
Keystone-SDA
The 27 member states of the European Union (EU) approved the signing of the package of agreements with Switzerland on Wednesday morning in Brussels. The decision will now go to the General Affairs Council on February 24 for formal adoption.
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The EU’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), the Council’s key preparatory body, gave its approval on Wednesday, sending the package of agreements, endorsed by the Swiss government in June 2025, on to the next stage.
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COREPER is regarded as an influential body, but it cannot take formal decisions. The dossier will now be passed to the General Affairs Council, one of the Council’s ministerial configurations. This is made up of the member states’ foreign ministers and it will meet next week.
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“This balanced and comprehensive package of agreements, endorsed by COREPER today, will deliver real benefits for citizens and businesses in both Switzerland and the EU. It strengthens legal certainty and broadens cooperation into new areas, including electricity, health security and food safety,” a spokesperson for the Cypriot presidency said.
“It also expands opportunities for researchers and students through EU programmes. The Cypriot presidency places particular importance on this package of agreements, as we work towards a stronger, more autonomous Union that remains open to the world.”
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EU member states have spent several months working on agreements aimed at “consolidating, deepening and extending” bilateral relations. At the technical level, discussions have also covered the future ratification process within the EU.
A key question was whether the treaties would need to be ratified by all 27 member states individually, or whether approval at EU level would be sufficient. “The second option has been chosen,” an EU official told the Keystone‑SDA news agency. This means the agreements will be ratified solely by the EU Council and the European Parliament.
Translated from Italian by AI/sp
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