News

Bern, 11.03.2026 – The UN sanctions committee has amended the list of sanctioned individuals, companies and organizations. The SESAM database has been updated accordingly. Furthermore, formal corrections have been made to some entries.

In view of the war in the Middle East and the increasing security risk, the FDFA has decided to temporarily close the Swiss embassy in Tehran. The ambassador and five Swiss staff members left Iran by land today and are now safely outside the country. They will return to Tehran as soon as the situation allows. As part of its good offices, Switzerland will continue to maintain an open line of communication between the United States and Iran, in consultation with the two countries.

The Swiss Confederation issued two bonds by auction on 11.03.2026: 0.00%, maturity 26.06.2034 (reopening) and 1.50%, maturity 30.04.2042 (reopening). The issuance volume (excluding own holdings) amounts to a total of 438.440 million francs.

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

On 10 March, Federal Councillor Albert Rösti represented Switzerland at the 2nd Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris. The international gathering focused on the civil use of nuclear energy in addressing major energy, climate and sovereignty related challenges. Mr Rösti recalled that nuclear energy is an important pillar of Switzerland's low-carbon energy mix, with safe, secure and sustainable waste management and disposal.

On 9 March 2026 the Federal Department of Economic Affairs EAER has amended annexes 12, 13 and 14 of the ordinance on measures against the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition, the content of the list of goods in annex 3 of the ordinance has been completed. The measures come into force at 11:00 pm on 10 March 2026.

Switzerland saw a mixed performance across market sector activities in the 4th quarter 2025. Turnover fell by 0.8% compared with the same quarter of the previous year and employment in these same market sectors remained stable (total employment +0.2%).

The Swiss Confederation is offering two bonds on a public tender system on 11.03.2026: 0.00%, maturity 26.06.2034 (reopening) and 1.50%, maturity 30.04.2042 (reopening).

In a new study, researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI compare the production costs of 21 different low-carbon fuel technologies across the globe. Their analysis shows that location-specific factors including both resource availability and financing conditions will be decisive for the future success of a given technology.

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

The Council of Europe's independent Group of Experts on Action against Vio-lence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) will pay its second country visit to Switzerland from 9 to 13 March 2026. GREVIO will review how Switzerland is implementing the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Con-vention). The review will be based on Switzerland's second state report on the implementation of the Istanbul Convention, which was adopted by the Federal Council on 26 September 2025.

The Federal Council approved the 2025 Foreign Policy Report at its meeting on 6 March 2026. The report gives an account of the foreign policy activities of the past year and takes stock of the Foreign Policy Strategy 2024–27 at the halfway point. The core question it seeks to address is how Switzerland can safeguard its interests in an increasingly polarised environment and play its part in advancing effective multilateralism.