News

On 16 May 2025 Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis received the foreign minister of Costa Rica, Arnoldo André Tinoco, for bilateral talks in Bern. The meeting focused on current geopolitical and trade policy challenges as well as bilateral issues. The visit follows Mr Cassis' trip to Costa Rica in July 2024, the first by a federal councillor. Switzerland and Costa Rica are celebrating 160 years of bilateral relations in 2025.

On 16 May, in the Albanian capital Tirana, President Karin Keller-Sutter attended the sixth summit of the European Political Community (EPC). With Denmark set to hold the EU Council Presidency in the second half of the year, she met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The summit focused on Europe’s competitiveness, democratic resilience and security.

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

In the 1st quarter 2025, the number of employed persons in Switzerland rose by 0.7% compared with the same quarter of the previous year. During the same period, the unemployment rate as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) rose to 4.7% in Switzerland and fell to 6.1% in the European Union. These are some of the results of the Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) conducted by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

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

On 15 May 2025, the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (EAER) has updated the document ‘Interpretative aid for sanction measures’. The modifications are visible in track changes mode.

The bicolour special coin from Swissmint commemorates the 150th anniversary of Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court: the CHF 10 special coin honours the highest court in Switzerland with the figure of Justitia – the personification of justice. It will be available from 22 May 2025.

The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) processed over 12,500 incident reports in 2024 – significantly more than in previous years, as detailed in the recently published Annual Safety Report. Incident reports contribute to the ongoing improvement of safety on the ground and in the air. Last year, there was one fatal accident in commercial aviation in Switzerland.

According to the early estimate of Switzerland's quarterly real GDP around 45 days after the end of the quarter ('GDP flash'), Swiss economic output is estimated to have increased by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2025 (Adjusted for seasonal/calendar effects and sporting events). This growth was driven significantly by the services sector, with industry also showing overall expansion. Notes: The flash estimate is based on early information available on the production components of GDP. Estimates are used where values are not yet available. The result may therefore change after the complete and updated source data become available. The regular release of quarterly GDP figures, including details on production, expenditure and income as well as updated calculations for the previous quarters, will be published on 2 June 2025.

The Producer and Import Price Index increased in April 2025 by 0.1% compared with the previous month, reaching 106.9 points (December 2020 = 100). Prices rose for machinery in particular. In contrast, petroleum and natural gas became cheaper. Compared with April 2024, the price level of the whole range of domestic and imported products fell by 0.5%. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

FDFA State Secretary Alexandre Fasel was in Luxembourg on 13 and 14 May, representing Switzerland at the 134th session of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers. The discussions, which were chaired by Luxembourg, focused on the Council of Europe's response to the war against Ukraine and democratic backsliding.

The Federal Council decided on 14 May 2025 that Switzerland will adopt the measures in the European Union’s 16th package of sanctions against Russia, with effect from 15 May 2025. 48 individuals, 35 entities and 74 vessels were already added to the Swiss sanctions list against Russia on 4 March. The Federal Council is also extending Swiss sanctions against Belarus.