News

On behalf of Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), Martina Hirayama, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) will travel to Sydney and Melbourne (Australia) and Auckland (New Zealand) from 30 June to 8 July. The aim of the trip is to reinforce and broaden bilateral ties in the domains of education, research, innovation and economic affairs. She will be accompanied by a high-ranking delegation from the scientific and business community.

In August 2024, the Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse launched an idea competition for the environmentally-friendly and safe recovery of ammunition from Swiss lakes. The announcement of the results, scheduled for the end of May 2025, has been postponed. Due to the complexity of the ideas, the evaluation is taking more time than planned.

The President of the Swiss Confederation, Karin Keller-Sutter, is to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday, 1 July. The geopolitical situation and security issues will be at the centre of their discussions. Also on the agenda are bilateral relations between Switzerland and France, European policy and competitiveness.

National Armaments Director Urs Loher met representatives from Elbit Systems Ltd for working discussions on the reconnaissance drone system 15 (ADS 15) and the Armed Forces Telecommunication (TK A) in Cyprus.

A new summary report (aviation) is available on the website of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board STSB.

In the first half of 2025, 18 women and girls were killed in Switzerland. Faced with this alarming situation, the committee responsible for the implementation of the Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women (Confederation, cantons and communes), coordinated by the Federal Office for Gender Equality (FOGE), calls for a strong and joint political action. It decided to introduce three emergency measures.

How can we accelerate the energy transition in a socially responsible way? Empa researchers propose a publicly funded basic service in solar energy that would increase energy autonomy, create social justice and promote further investment in renewable energies. This requires – among other things – a third of all roofs in Switzerland and a total investment every 30 years that is roughly equivalent to the average gross monthly salary per Swiss citizen.

Switzerland invested CHF 25.9 billion in R&D in 2023, an average annual increase of 3% over 2021, the year of the previous survey. Research and development activities were mainly undertaken by business enterprises (69%) and higher education institutions (28%). Nearly 150 000 people were employed to carry out this work. These are the main results of the Federal Statistical Office’s (FSO) Statistics on Research and Development in Switzerland.

A new edition of the publication “The Swiss Tax System” has been compiled. This brochure is available in four languages (e, d, f, i) and gives an overview of the taxes levied by the Confederation, the cantons and communes. It also goes into detail concerning cantonal particularities.

FDFA State Secretary Alexandre Fasel was in Paris on 25 June 2025 for political consultations. In addition to bilateral topics and cross-border issues, the talks at France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs centred on current geopolitical developments and the opening of the consultation procedure in Switzerland on the agreements in the new Swiss–EU package to stabilise and develop relations.

The earthquakes in Myanmar in April 2025 and in Turkey in February 2023 claimed countless lives. Internationally deployable rescue teams provide vital assistance in such emergencies, and regular training is key to ensuring the efficiency of their operations. To that end Switzerland is conducting the international earthquake simulation exercise ‘SIMEX25’ in Kriens (canton of Lucerne) from 23 to 27 June. Rescue teams from 12 countries are taking part.

On 24 June 2025 the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER has amended the annex of the Ordinance instituting measures in relation to the situation in Guatemala. The entries for five individuals have been modified and three individuals and one entity has been added to the annex. The measures come into force on 26 June 2025.