Switzerland and the EU share strong political and economic ties and have signed more than 120 bilateral agreements over the past 50 years. After the unsuccessful termination of the Institutional Framework Agreement in 2021, in December 2024 the EU and Switzerland agreed on a new broad package of agreements, the signature and ratification process of which will now begin. Given this new set of agreements, and considering the important role that Swiss subnational authorities (Cantons) play in shaping the country's EU policy, it is of utmost importance that EU local and regional authorities (LRAs) are engaged in the implementation of the agreements since the early stages, and that the voice of LRAs is taken into account when defining new avenues of cooperation with Switzerland.
Mr Matteo Bianchi has been appointed as rapporteur for a CoR opinion on the relations between the EU and Switzerland. This consultation aims at providing him with comments and suggestions in view of the elaboration of the opinion, to be adopted at the CoR Plenary on 14-15 October 2025.
The consultation is open to representatives of offices of regions bordering Switzerland in Brussels and their associations, as well as other EU and Swiss relevant stakeholders.
The consultation will take place in hybrid format, at the CoR premises in room JDE70, and online on Teams. The consultation will be held in English only, without interpretation.
Attendance is by invitation. Parties interested in participating are invited to register by 2 May 2025 at midnight, through the following EU Survey.
Contributions in writing (max 2 pages) can also be sent to civex@cor.europa.eu at the latest by Friday, 16 May 2025.