ZURICH - Swiss business welcomed a new deal to overhaul the country's relationship with the European Union, bringing Christmas cheer to an economy that is set to be one of Europe's most resilient in a challenging 2025.
Switzerland's economy was already tipped to outperform its neighbours. UBS sees it growing in 2025 by 1.3% compared to 0.6% for Germany, 0.9% for France and 0.9% for the euro zone. It will help Switzerland's pharmaceuticals sector, which generates over 50% of Swiss goods exports, get access to the best workers and research, said Georg Daerendinger, spokesman for industry association Interpharma.Pharma giant Roche said it created planning and legal certainty. If Switzerland's mutual recognition agreement with the EU for the sector is ultimately not updated, pharmaceutical products face higher costs, the firm said.
"It used to be the case that when Germany got a cold, Switzerland got pneumonia," Minsch said."No longer." Still, foreign demand is a worry, and the EU deal is unlikely to provide a quick fix for problems in neighbouring Germany, where the key carmaking industry is struggling.