Between November 2022 and January 2023, the Interdepartmental Coordination Group on EU Digital Policy (IC-EUDP), under the lead of OFCOM and the State Secretariat of the FDFA, carried out a monitoring exercise on the impact of the EU digital strategy on Switzerland. The work of the IC-EUDP confirms the trends identified in the June 2021 analysis: The EU's digital policy measures are far-reaching and Switzerland is also affected by the EU's regulatory initiatives in many areas (e.g. platform regulation, artificial intelligence and data policy). In general, however, the present analysis does not identify any immediate need for Switzerland to take action as a result of the EU's digital policy. In particular, it does not identify any significant market access barriers for Switzerland in the digital sector. This is also because the new binding regulations generally apply to all providers and not only to providers from third countries such as Switzerland.
However, the finding that there is no direct need for action based on EU digital policy does not mean that Switzerland cannot take action on its own in individual areas, such as platform regulation. As such, the procedure in individual areas also falls within the area of responsibility of the respective specialist departments.
The Federal Administration continues to monitor all relevant developments. The next comprehensive analysis of the IC-EUDP is scheduled for the end of 2024.
Publication of the analysis
The Federal Council has tasked OFCOM, in cooperation with the State Secretariat FDFA, to ensure regular monitoring of the impact of the EU's digital strategy on Switzerland. This monitoring is carried out within the framework of the Interdepartmental Coordination Group on EU Digital Policy (IC-EUDP) in conjunction with all federal offices concerned.
The analysis provides a detailed overview of the EU's various activities in the area of digital policy and analyses their potential impact on Switzerland. As in previous years, this report has now been published (see links). It should be noted that this document is a snapshot reflecting the situation as it currently stands (status: 15 March 2023).
EU Digital policy
Digital policy is one of the von der Leyen Commission's political priorities. Since February 2020, the EU has had a new digital strategy, which includes over 30 different measures and has in recent years set priorities through a range of legislative proposals in areas such as online platforms, data policy and artificial intelligence (AI).
Further information:
Analysis 2023 and 2021
Analysis 2019 (in German)
Address for enquiries:
Federal Office of Communications OFCOM
Press service, +41 58 460 55 50, media@bakom.admin.ch
Publisher:
Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications
