Agencies
Swiss businesses welcomed a new deal to overhaul the country’s relationship with the EU, adding early holiday cheer to an economy that is expected to be one of Europe’s most resilient in a challenging 2025.
Corporate lobbies, economists and firms say the agreement unveiled on Friday stabilizes relations with the bloc – which accounts for over half of Swiss exports – even if it still faces a difficult ratification process involving a likely referendum.
"Market access is crucial: European trade is a cornerstone of the Swiss economy,” said Samad Sarferaz at the KOF Economic Institute at ETH, a university in Zurich. "The benefits will not be seen immediately but will be there in the long run.”
Switzerland’s economy was already tipped to outperform its neighbors. UBS sees it growing in 2025 by 1.3% compared to 0.6% for Germany, 0.9% for France and 0.9% for the eurozone.
Without a deal, Switzerland would face potentially massive disruptions to trade and EU market access, said Sarferaz.
The EU accord will harmonize standards, allow access to research programs and facilitate the movement of people – with some protections to allay Swiss fears over mass migration.
It will help Switzerland’s pharmaceuticals sector, which generates over 50% of Swiss goods exports, get access to the best workers and research, said Georg Daerendinger, spokesperson for industry association Interpharma.
Pharma giant Roche said it created planning and legal certainty. If Switzerland’s mutual recognition agreement (MRA) with the EU for the sector is ultimately not updated, pharmaceutical products face higher costs, the firm said.
Rudolf Minsch, chief economist of business lobby Economiesuisse, said the commitment to stability was a welcome tonic in a world riven by wars and trade tensions.
That was especially true given the weakness of Germany – Switzerland’s top trade partner – and the Swiss franc’s appreciation, which makes exports dearer.
"It used to be the case that when Germany got a cold, Switzerland got pneumonia,” Minsch said. "No longer.”