News

Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, the head of the FDFA, was in Milan on 11 and 12 February 2026 for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. He met with the president of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, and Milan's mayor, Giuseppe Sala. Talks focused on bilateral relations, particularly with the Lombardy region, the tragedy in Crans-Montana, cross-border cooperation and the potential of the 2026 Winter Olympics to bring benefits to the region.

The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI is awarding PSI Founder Fellowships to Mohsen Sadr and Mohammadhossein Montazerian. The fellowships will support two business ideas based on PSI technologies: an AI-based platform for the development of fusion energy and aerospace technologies, and a novel technology for thin-film solid-state batteries for compact energy storage.

Federal Councillors Martin Pfister, Ignazio Cassis and Beat Jans will attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC 26) from 13 to 15 February. In a rapidly changing security environment, this conference offers an opportunity for high-level discussions on how to strengthen Europe's security. It also provides a platform for promoting values such as peace and the rule of law.

Local and yet exclusive, natural and yet high-tech: Spalted wood combines contradictions. This very special wood is characterized by patterns of fine black lines, which it owes to a fungus. What used to be a rare chance find in the forest is now a standardized manufacturing process – thanks to the collaboration between Koster AG Holzwelten and Empa.

Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), will travel to Milan on 11 and 12 February 2026 on the occasion of the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. There, he will hold talks with regional and city authorities.

Ukraine is currently facing its worst energy crisis since the start of the war. Swiss companies will be delivering high-performance generators and electricity modules to Ukraine in the coming weeks to provide support in this difficult situation. Following a request from the Ukrainian government, on 11 February 2026 the Federal Council approved aid up to a cost ceiling of CHF 32 million.

The Swiss Confederation issued two bonds by auction on 11.02.2026: 0.50%, maturity 27.06.2032 (reopening) and 0.50%, maturity 28.05.2040 (reopening). The issuance volume (excluding own holdings) amounts to a total of 372.140 million francs

The Federal Council wants to further enhance protection against airborne threats. At its meeting on 11 February, it decided to enter into negotiations to extend or conclude new international agreements on the exchange of air situation data. This will enable Switzerland to receive timely warnings of potential threats – even before they reach its own airspace – and so gain valuable advance warning time for the population and the Armed Forces.

Companies can now report the anticipatory tax for domestic and foreign transactions online via the ePortal. This applies to forms 106 and 108 as well as basic request applications 823, 823B, and 823C. Take advantage of this digital solution!

At the Digital Switzerland Advisory Board meeting on 10 February, participants discussed what measures should be taken to implement the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence in Switzerland. The focus was on measures such as voluntary commitment declarations by individual industries, codes of ethics and standards. Federal Councillor Albert Rösti chaired the meeting, which was also attended by Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi.

The Swiss Confederation is offering two bonds on a public tender system on 11.02.2026: 0.50%, maturity 27.06.2032 (reopening) and 0.50%, maturity 28.05.2040 (reopening).

With an appeal to fight antisemitism, hatred and discrimination, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, opened the OSCE conference on ‘Combating anti-Semitism: addressing challenges of intolerance and discrimination’ on 9 February 2026. The two-day conference is taking place in St Gallen and is the first of several international conferences to be held within the framework of Switzerland's 2026 OSCE chairpersonship.