Change to EU rules means significant additional costs for Bern
Keystone-SDA
On Thursday, the European Commission informed Bern of a change to the division of responsibilities regarding unemployed cross-border workers. The change is relevant to Switzerland due to existing agreements and is likely to result in additional costs of several hundred million francs.
The discussions centred on issues relating to the implementation of the free movement of persons. These include the EU’s amended regulations on the coordination of social security, which Switzerland fears will have a significant impact on unemployment benefit for cross-border workers.
+ Eight graphs on free movement and the Swiss economy
In future, the state in which the unemployed person was last employed is to be responsible for paying unemployment benefits, rather than the state of residence. According to federal figures, there were 413,320 cross-border commuters in Switzerland in the first quarter of 2026.
According to estimates by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), this could result in additional costs of between CHF500 million ($600 million) and CHF800 million per year. The National Council is calling on the Federal Council to reject the amendment.
+ How we produce news in English
Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
