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Federal Council / Chronicle
What the Federal Council has announced, by meeting. Title and lead come from the News Service Bund; the full text is on admin.ch.
Switzerland abroad: negotiations, treaties, sanctions.
Switzerland intends to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and to make the necessary amendments to Swiss law. Work will also continue on the regulation of AI in specific sectors such as healthcare and transport. The Federal Council spoke out in favour of this approach at its meeting on 12 February.
At its 29 January 2025 meeting, the Federal Council was informed about how the cuts to development cooperation decided on by Parliament will be implemented. In late December, Parliament made cuts of CHF 110 million to the 2025 budget and CHF 321 million to the 2026–28 financial plan for bilateral and multilateral development cooperation. The cuts do not affect humanitarian aid, peace promotion or support for Ukraine.
During its meeting on 29 January 2025, the Federal Council decided to remove the European Union (EU) from the list of jurisdictions affected by the measure to protect the Swiss stock exchange infrastructure (protective measure) with effect from 1 May 2025. The Federal Council had activated the protective measure in 2019 to temporarily protect the Swiss stock exchange infrastructure in response to the non-recognition by the EU of the equivalence of Switzerland's stock exchange regulations. As the EU has since revised the corresponding legal basis, the Swiss protective measure with respect to the EU is now no longer necessary and is to be deactivated for the benefit of Swiss companies. Switzerland will continue to seek recognition of equivalence and improved market access for financial service providers in the regulatory dialogue with the EU concerning the financial sector.
Die Schweiz unterstützt die Entwicklungsländer, indem sie ihnen im Rahmen ihres Allgemeinen Präferenzensystems Zollpräferenzen gewährt. Am 29. Januar 2025 hat der Bundesrat beschlossen, das bestehende System zu aktualisieren, um den wirtschaftlichen Entwicklungen der letzten Jahre Rechnung zu tragen.
At its meeting on 29 January, the Federal Council approved the negotiating mandate for an international treaty between Switzerland and Ukraine. In the process of rebuilding Ukraine, this will provide a legal basis for increased cooperation with the Swiss private sector.
Die Schweizer Brotgetreideernte 2024 war aufgrund des kühlen und nassen Wetters die schlechteste seit Jahrzehnten. Um die inländische Nachfrage nach Getreidearten wie Weizen, Roggen oder Dinkel decken zu können, hat der Bundesrat am 29. Januar 2025 das Zollkontingent Brotgetreide um 60'000 Tonnen erhöht.
In Switzerland, it will no longer be possible to adopt children from abroad in the future. The Federal Council has instructed the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) to prepare a consultation draft on a ban on international adoptions by the end of 2026 at the latest. An independent group of experts has concluded in its report that even well-crafted adoption laws cannot prevent abuse and that a ban is the best way to adequately protect all those affected, particularly children.
At its meeting on 29 January, the Federal Council approved Switzerland's new reduction target under the Paris Agreement. This corresponds to the reduction path of the Swiss Climate and Innovation Act. By 2035, Switzerland should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 65 per cent compared to 1990 levels, and by 59 per cent on average between 2031 and 2035. The objectives are to be achieved primarily through domestic measures. At the same time, the Federal Council approved an amendment to the long-term climate strategy.
The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will take place in Davos next week. Six members of the Federal Council will be attending the event. President Karin Keller-Sutter will open the event together with WEF founder Prof. Klaus Schwab on Tuesday, 21 January.
Der Bundesrat hat am 15. Januar 2025 die Unterzeichnung des internationalen Hochseeschutzabkommens genehmigt. Er wird nun eine Vernehmlassungsvorlage ausarbeiten. Anschliessend entscheidet das Parlament über die Ratifizierung.
Der Bundesrat hat am 15. Januar 2025 den Bericht zur Aussenwirtschaftspolitik 2024 verabschiedet. Im Kontext der zunehmenden Unsicherheiten in den weltweiten Wirtschafts- und Handelsbeziehungen stärkt die Schweizer Aussenwirtschaftspolitik die Resilienz des Landes durch günstige wirtschaftspolitische und regulatorische Rahmenbedingungen. Unternehmen sollen dadurch agil auf die sich rasch verändernden Bedingungen auf den internationalen Märkten reagieren können.
Mit einer neuen Verordnung will die EU die Kontrollen an den Schengen-Aussengrenzen erleichtern und irreguläre Einreise auf Flügen in den Schengen-Raum bekämpfen. Die Schweiz übernimmt die Verordnung im Rahmen ihrer Schengen-Assoziierung. Der Bundesrat hat an seiner Sitzung vom 15. Januar 2025 die Übernahme unter Vorbehalt der parlamentarischen Zustimmung genehmigt und das Eidgenössische Justiz- und Polizeidepartement (EJPD) beauftragt, die für die Umsetzung notwendigen Gesetzesanpassungen zu erarbeiten.
Press releases: News Service Bund of the Federal Chancellery, last checked 26.09.2026, 03:20.
Fixed rules read from the title and lead which task a press release belongs to. A release can belong to several tasks, some to none. The assignment is schwur.ch’s, not the Federal Council’s.
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