The President of the Swiss Confederation and head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Micheline Calmy-Rey, will travel to Turkey from 26 to 27 December at the invitation of the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahmed Davutoglu.

Heute haben die Schweiz und die Europäische Union (EU) das im Rahmen der Bilateralen I abgeschlossene Abkommen über die gegenseitige Anerkennung von Konformitätsbewertungen (Mutual Recognition Agreement, MRA CH-EU) angepasst: Es wurde um ein neues Kapitel über Seilbahnen erweitert und die rechtlichen Referenzen wurden auf den neusten Stand gebracht. Diese Änderung tritt am heutigen Tag in Kraft.

The Federal Council has decided that Switzerland and Luxembourg will submit a joint candidature to co-chair the ESA Council at ministerial level for the period 2012-2015. In so doing, Switzerland underscores its commitment to European independence in space. The joint candidature with Luxembourg will also strengthen ties between the two countries far beyond space affairs.

For the past fifty years, the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS) has been awarding scholarships to talented young researchers, students and artists from other countries. Inaugurated in 1961, the FCS exchange scholarship programme is an important part of Swiss foreign policy, both at the scientific and cultural level as well as in terms of development aid.

On 23 November 2011 in Bern, Switzerland and Bulgaria signed a double taxation agreement (DTA) in the area of taxes on income and capital. The DTA will contribute to the further positive development of bilateral economic relations. Along with an administrative assistance clause in accordance with the internationally applicable standard, it contains various provisions that are beneficial to the Swiss economy.

Today during a meeting in Bern, State Secretary Michael Ambühl and Ilias Plaskovitis, the General Secretary in the Greek Ministry of Finance, conducted talks on a possible tax agreement between Switzerland and Greece.

Switzerland and Ireland wish to work more closely together in the therapeutic products sector. The Federal Council has approved a corresponding agreement, and Swissmedic, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, and the Irish Medicine Board (IMB) have signed it today.

The visit to Brussels on Tuesday, 11 October 2011 gave Mrs Calmy-Rey an opportunity to explain the Swiss position on bilateral relations to members of the European Parliament and to comment on Swiss foreign policy as well as the relations between Switzerland and the EU. In addition she inaugurates the first Soirée suisse in Brussels.

On Tuesday, 11 October 2011, the President of the Swiss Confederation, Micheline Calmy-Rey, will meet representatives of the European Parliament for talks in Brussels. In the evening, she will open the first “Soirée suisse” at the Swiss Mission to the European Union in Brussels.

The second round of negotiations between Switzerland and the European Union on linking trading systems for carbon emissions allowances has taken place in Zurich. Under an agreement on this issue, the two Parties would recognise each other’s emission allowances and Swiss businesses would gain access to the significantly larger and more liquid European emissions market.