Deep Dive into the Bilaterals III
- Mar 6
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 25
On 30. November 2025, I had the great opportunity to share my insights on the updated Free Movement of Persons Agreement (FMOPA) between Switzerland and the EU at the annual conference of the Swiss Society of International Law (svir-ssdi) and to share my experience as head of the Swiss delegation of the FMOPA negotiations. A great opportunity to exchange thoughts with experts from academia, practice, federal and cantonal governments on the importance of the new package of Swiss-EU agreements.
My thanks go to Christine Kaddous and her great team for the organisation of this comprehensive academic event on the new Swiss-EU package. Many thanks also to the great participants of the insightful panel on Free Movement of Persons Simon Hirsbrunner, Francesco Maiani, Sarah Progin-Theuerkauf und Louise T. And congratulations to Benedikt Pirker for his most illustrative input on the Swiss contribution.
My key take aways:
The updated FMOPA keeps its focus on the labor market, grants permanent residence only to economically active persons, secures wage protection and respects the Swiss constitution.
The much needed EU-workforce has always been a net contributor to the Swiss social welfare system. The negotiated exceptions and safeguards make sure this will not change. In case of serious social or economic problems, the new safeguard clause can be triggered.
The FMOPA is by far the most important agreement for the Swiss economy, apart from its positive effects on innovation, research and cultural exchange between Switzerland and its closest neighbours.
The FMOPA has been a success story for more than 20 years. The updates and the new institutional framework make sure this story can continue: It brings more legal certainty, more proportionality tests, instead of escalation and arbitrariness. We should focus more on these facts instead of creating worst-case scenarios.
You can download my presentation here:
Written contributions will be published in the first semester 2026.