State Secretary Livia Leu and the Secretary-General of the European Commission, Ilze Juhansone signed the legally non-binding MoU on Switzerland's second contribution today following the third round of exploratory talks on the Federal Council’s proposed package approach. The MoU was approved by the Federal Council on 24 November 2021 and by the EU on 4 April 2022.

On 30 September 2021, the Swiss Parliament released the contribution, sending a positive signal to the EU concerning the continuation and further development of the bilateral approach.

The MoU sets out the key parameters of the second Swiss contribution. This includes the amount of the contribution, its distribution among the partner countries, thematic priorities and principles for cooperation and implementation.

The MoU provides the framework for the ongoing discussions with the partner countries on the bilateral implementation agreements which define, among other aspects, the thematic priorities for each country. With the MoU signed, the negotiations are now set to move forward swiftly and, if possible, be concluded this year.

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The second Swiss contribution aims to leverage Swiss expertise to reduce economic and social disparities and to manage migration better in selected EU member states.

The cohesion framework credit in the amount of CHF 1.047 billion is intended to reduce economic and social disparities in the 13 countries that have joined the EU since 2004 (EU-13).The migration framework credit totalling CHF 190 million is earmarked for measures in the area of migration, including in EU countries other than the EU-13.The second Swiss contribution of CHF 1.32 billion over 10 years is comprised of the federal government's own expenditure of CHF 65 million (5%) and the framework credits. As with the enlargement contribution, this second contribution will be channelled into selected projects and programmes in the partner countries and will not be transferred directly into their budgets or to the EU.

Switzerland and EU sign memorandum of understanding on second Swiss contribution