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On 6 June 2025 the Federal Council approved the reporting of Swissmedic, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, for the previous year, thereby discharging the Swissmedic Agency Council of its responsibilities for 2024. The key performance indicators showed a positive trend. The Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products promoted access to innovative treatments through fast-track procedures, international cooperation and its Innovation Office, which has now been definitively established, so that patients in Switzerland are able to benefit sooner from promising treatments. Swissmedic has specifically invested in the upgrading of its IT infrastructure: in 2024, the Swissmedic Public Cloud and the online databases SwissGMDP and swissdamed were launched. The Agency posted a deficit of around 23 million Swiss francs for the 2024 financial year. This is partly due to the digital transformation process and is covered by the reserves created in recent years.

The review of the Credit Suisse crisis showed that the too big to fail regime needs to be improved in order to reduce risks for the state, taxpayers and the economy. For this reason, during its meeting on 6 June 2025 the Federal Council determined the parameters for the corresponding amendments to acts and ordinances, which will be submitted for consultation in stages from this autumn onwards. These include stricter capital requirements for systemically important banks with foreign subsidiaries, additional requirements on the recovery and resolution of systemically important banks, the introduction of a senior managers regime for banks and additional powers for the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The Federal Council also opened a consultation process for those measures that are to be implemented directly at ordinance level.The review of the Credit Suisse crisis showed that the too big to fail regime needs to be improved in order to reduce risks for the state, taxpayers and the economy. For this reason, during its meeting on 6 June 2025 the Federal Council determined the parameters for the corresponding amendments to acts and ordinances, which will be submitted for consultation in stages from this autumn onwards. These include stricter capital requirements for systemically important banks with foreign subsidiaries, additional requirements on the recovery and resolution of systemically important banks, the introduction of a senior managers regime for banks and additional powers for the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The Federal Council also opened a consultation process for those measures that are to be implemented directly at ordinance level.

During its meeting on 6 June 2025, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the approval of the introduction of the international automatic exchange of information (AEOI) concerning cryptoassets with the relevant partner states. Entry into force is planned for 2026, with the first exchange of data taking place in 2027.

On 6 June the Federal Council appointed Martin Keller and Matthias Leuenberger to the ETH Board. Martin Keller will take office on 1 August, succeeding Christiane Leister, who passed away at the beginning of March. From 1 January 2026 Matthias Leuenberger will succeed Susan Gasser, whose term of office comes to an end in December. Martin Keller has many years of experience in corporate management and development and Matthias Leuenberger in leading positions in the pharmaceutical industry, making them ideal new members of the ETH Board.

Within days of announcing that CHF 20 million had been earmarked for the crisis in the Middle East, Switzerland is releasing CHF 28 million in response to humanitarian emergencies in other parts of the world. Roughly 50% will be used for ICRC operations in Africa. The SDC has therefore disbursed practically all of its emergency funds for 2025. This decision was taken in response to growing humanitarian needs around the world.

In 2024 at least 95.8% of the population in all cantons was able to use cash payment services (including service at home) offered by Swiss Post. In its annual analysis, the Federal Office of Communications OFCOM concludes that Swiss Post once again fulfilled its universal service obligations.

The Swiss hotel sector recorded 18.5 million overnight stays during the winter tourist season (November 2024 to April 2025), the highest level ever observed. Compared with the same period of the previous year, the volume increased by 2.8% (+497 000 overnight stays). With a total of 9.2 million overnight stays, foreign demand rose by 5.5% (+478 000), reaching its highest level since the 2007/2008 winter season. Domestic demand, at 9.3 million overnight stays, rose very slightly (+0.2%/+20 000), surpassing last year's all-time record. These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

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

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

When fractions of a second make all the difference: Empa researchers developed a process for manufacturing advanced thin films in which sophisticated timing enables high-quality functional layers at low process temperatures. The new method has applications in the semiconductor industry as well as in future quantum and photonics technologies.

Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, the head of the FDFA, has officially opened the 8th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2025) in Geneva. This international conference, organised under the aegis of the United Nations, is the leading forum for discussing global progress in disaster reduction and sharing new knowledge in this area. Natural hazards are a highly topical issue that affects countries around the world to varying degrees, significantly impacting affected populations and the economy.

Address by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) – Check against delivery