News

On 16 and 17 July, Martina Hirayama, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation, attended the informal meeting of EU research ministers in Copenhagen (Denmark). The policy discussions focused on promoting key technologies in Europe and the design of the next EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation from 2028. State Secretary Hirayama also took the opportunity to hold bilateral talks with counterparts from various countries.

The United States Department of Defense has informed the DDPS that it will reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine, focusing on ground-based air defense. This also affects Switzerland, which will receive its production batches later than planned. The Federal Council has been notified.

Markus Mäder, State Secretary for Security Policy, will hold talks on current security policy developments and bilateral cooperation with his counterparts in Chisinau (Moldova) from 17 to 18 July.

Investment in construction fell by 0.7% in nominal terms in 2024 compared with the previous year. Investment in building construction fell by 1.1% and investment in civil engineering rose by 1.3%. New construction projects saw 2.7% less investment, while investment in renovation projects rose by 2.3%. These are the provisional findings from the Construction Statistics of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

On 17 and 18 July 2025, State Secretary Daniela Stoffel will represent Switzerland at the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Durban, South Africa. The delegation will also include Martin Schlegel, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank. The meeting under South Africa's G20 presidency will cover topics such as the global economic and debt situation, the stability and further development of the international financial architecture, and international tax issues.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) initiated criminal proceedings against persons unknown in response to a spate of DDoS attacks targeting a number of federal websites in June 2023, for which the pro-Russian collective "NoName057(16)" claimed responsibility. In the spring of 2025, several members of this collective could be identified following an extensive international investigation to which the OAG and fedpol contributed significantly. The OAG has broadened the criminal proceedings to include three ringleaders of this collective and issued warrants for their arrests. The operators of the more than 200 Swiss websites targeted where feasible received prior warning and support in warding off the attacks from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The whole process can be considered a success story, highlighting the value of international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime.

In 2024, 4.8 million cubic metres of timber were harvested in Switzerland, a decrease of almost 2% compared with the previous year. A decrease was observed in the sawlog (–2%) and chopped fuel wood (–11%) categories, while the harvest of industrial roundwood (+4%) and fuel wood chips (+3%) increased. The wood chip share of the total harvest – now around 30% – has been growing for years. The share of fuel wood in the total timber harvest has almost doubled in the last 20 years. These are some of the new findings from the Forestry Statistics published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

You could be interested by new pages which have been published on the OFCOM website between 01.07.2025 and 14.07.2025.

The Hydrological Yearbook of Switzerland is published by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and gives an overview of the hydrological situation in Switzerland. It shows the changes in water levels and discharge rates of lakes, rivers and groundwater and provides information on water temperatures and the physical and chemical properties of the principal rivers in Switzerland. Most of the data is derived from FOEN surveys.

The Federal Tax Administration has updated the course listings and bonus shares 2023, 2024 and 2025.

We need to make our energy system more sustainable – but what is the best way to achieve this? In order to plan the energy supply of the future, policymakers need sound facts and figures. Science already provides reliable models for comparing the sustainability and the costs of different energy systems. Now, Empa researchers have also developed a model for calculating supply security.

The Producer and Import Price Index fell by 0.1% in June 2025 compared with the previous month. The index stood at 106.4 points (December 2020 = 100). Petroleum products in particular saw falling prices. In contrast, food products as well as petroleum and natural gas saw higher prices. Compared with June 2024, the price level of the whole range of domestic and imported products fell by 0.7%. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).