News

Address by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), at the opening of the 61st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva – Check against delivery

The Producer and Import Price Index fell in January 2026 by 0.2% compared with the previous month, reaching 99.8 points (December 2025 = 100). Petroleum products and pharmaceutical preparations in particular saw falling prices. Compared with January 2025, the price level of the whole range of domestic and imported products fell by 2.2%. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

The Federal Tax Administration has updated the course listings and bonus shares 2024 and 2025.

In his capacity as OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ignazio Cassis met on 20 February 2026 in Sarajevo with members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković, the leadership of the Central Election Commission, as well as the OSCE mission on the ground.

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

President Guy Parmelin has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other heads of state and government at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, where discussions focused on the use and international governance of artificial intelligence. Switzerland remains committed to this debate and will host an AI summit in Geneva in 2027.

More than 1,500 participants from 120 countries are expected to attend online or in person the 5th edition of the International Cooperation Forum Switzerland (IC Forum), to be held in Geneva on 26 and 27 February 2026. The event will bring together key players in international cooperation to discuss current challenges and the future of humanitarian aid. Participants will include federal councillors Ignazio Cassis and Martin Pfister, as well as the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Tom Fletcher, and Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the ICRC, who will exchange views with a range of international experts.

Many bridges in Switzerland were built before the 1980s – and are therefore approaching the end of their service life. Empa researchers are now developing a novel strengthening system to retrofit damaged reinforced concrete bridges. For the first time, they have combined ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete with memory steel, which attempts to contract after being heated, therefore prestressing concrete structures.

The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) has been newly commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health as the National Reference Centre for Wastewater Monitoring. This work centres around the collection of health data from municipal wastewater, and particularly that of viruses that are known to be pathogenic. A new national mandate has also been introduced for the analysis of substances related to pharmaceutical and illicit drug use.

On 18 February 2026, the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) has amended annex 2 of the ordinance on measures against Sudan. Seven individuals have been added to the annex. The measures come into force on 18 February 2026 at 11 p.m.

On 18 February 2026 the Federal Department of Economic Affairs EAER has amended the annex of the ordinance on measures against individuals and entities who support Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The entry concerning one individual has been modified and the entry concerning another individual has been deleted. The measures come into force on 18 February 2026 at 11 p.m

The Confederation ended 2025 with a financing surplus of CHF 0.3 billion. The improvement relative to the budget is primarily attributable to a temporary increase in receipts from the canton of Geneva. The Federal Council was informed of this provisional result during its meeting on 18 February 2026. At the same time, it launched work on the next budget. Despite the balanced financial result, the federal finances remain tight: structural deficits can still be expected for 2027 to 2029, even with relief package 27 and the planned VAT increase for the Armed Forces and security. Without these measures, the deficits from 2027 onwards would amount to between CHF 2 and 4 billion.