News

Federal councillors Ignazio Cassis and Martin Pfister, Switzerland's foreign and defence ministers respectively, met with the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Kaja Kallas, in Zurich on 5 March 2026. At the meeting, Mr Cassis and Ms Kallas signed a joint declaration on strengthening foreign and security policy cooperation. An agreement simplifying Switzerland's participation in EU peacekeeping missions was also concluded. These new agreements are not part of the Swiss–EU package (Bilaterals III).

At its meeting of 4/5 March, the ETH Board decided to put forward two versions of the organisational development project “FIT for the Future” for internal consultation within the ETH Domain. It allocated resources to the institutions of the ETH Domain for 2027 and approved the consolidated reporting for 2025 on the ETH Domain for submission to the Confederation. The ETH Board also took note of a change in the EPFL Direction.

At its meeting of 4/5 March 2026 and upon application of the President of ETH Zurich, Professor Joël Mesot, and the President of EPFL, Professor Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, the ETH Board appointed a total of seven women and twelve men as professors. It also took note of the resignations of four professors and thanked them for their services. In the last 12 months, the ETH Board has made a total of 26 new appointments for women and 25 for men; the proportion of women among these new appointments thus amounts to 51%.

On 9 March 2026, the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will open in New York. Under the theme of access to justice for all women and girls, this year’s session will focus on promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems. The Swiss delegation will be led by Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Minister for Gender Equality.

Solid-state batteries do not use flammable liquid electrolytes and are therefore safer than conventional lithium-ion batteries. Empa researchers have developed a solid electrolyte based on a stretchable polymer. The scalable material could allow the development of better solid-state batteries and be used in flexible batteries for medical applications.

The first of around 70 diesel generators to be supplied by the Swiss Confederation in response to the worst energy crisis since the start of the conflict have arrived in Kyiv. Jean-Luc Bernasconi, head of international cooperation at the Swiss embassy in Kyiv, attended a ceremony on 4 March 2026 at which the generators – which will be used in various locations where energy infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged – were officially handed over to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU). The generators provided by Switzerland are part of the Federal Council's aid package, adopted on 11 February 2026, on the supply of urgently needed energy goods to Ukraine. Further deliveries will continue to be made on an ongoing basis.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.6% in February 2026 compared with the previous month, reaching 100.6 points (December 2025 = 100). Inflation was +0.1% compared with the same month of the previous year. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Switzerland has come to the end of its two-year chairmanship of the United Nations Statistical Commission led by Georges‑Simon Ulrich, Director General of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Elected in 2024 and confirmed for a second term in 2025, Switzerland actively promoted global data governance and the modernisation of statistical systems.

The Financial Statistics Section of the Federal Finance Administration (FFA) publishes the financial statistics with figures from 2024 and publishes a provisional estimate for 2025. The data can be accessed on the data portal.

Speech by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The speech was given in French. Please check against delivery.

The UN sanctions committee has amended the list of sanctioned individuals, companies and organizations. The SESAM database has been updated accordingly. On 4 March 2016 the Federal Council has adopted the Ordinance on the automatic application of the UN Security Council’s sanctions lists. Hence, the amendments of the UN Security Council’s sanctions lists enter into force in Switzerland without delay.

You could be interested by new pages which have been published on the OFCOM website between 15.02.2026 and 28.02.2026.