Swiss innovators risk exclusion from EU technology procurement

Swiss companies risk losing access to a new European market for experimental technology. The European Commission is preparing rules to channel public procurement money into products that public authorities want to buy but that are not yet commercially available. The examples include hospital robots and artificial intelligence systems for rubbish collection. Swiss firms could be barred from bidding under the proposal because Switzerland lacks an agreement that covers the scheme.

The timing is significant. On September 10, 2026, the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee approved the wider Swiss EU treaty package by a large majority. The committee also endorsed a resolution describing the agreements as a “balanced whole”. The treaties still require further approval in Brussels and ratification in Bern.

That parallel process exposes a practical gap in Switzerland’s relationship with the EU. Swiss companies work closely with European universities, research bodies and public institutions, yet access to a procurement programme could depend on the legal status of the country rather than the quality of its technology. The proposed rules would give preference to suppliers inside the EU and countries with relevant agreements. For research intensive companies, losing early public contracts could mean losing testing sites, reference customers and a route into European markets.

Only €0.60 of every €100 in European public procurement currently goes to innovative projects, according to the European Commission. Brussels wants to increase that share by making it easier for cities, hospitals and other public bodies to commission technologies still in development.

The programme targets a difficult stage of commercialisation. A company may have a functioning prototype, but no established market and no public customer willing to carry the cost and risk of the first deployment. A hospital robot tested through a procurement contract, for example, could gain the operational evidence needed to attract private investment and win later contracts.

The Commission argues that cross border cooperation is necessary because important technologies can be too expensive for one member state to develop alone. Its proposal would reserve 50% of the funding for the EU or countries with relevant agreements. The eligible group includes European Economic Area states and countries in the Balkans. Switzerland is currently outside that framework.

The Commission has said the exclusion is not aimed specifically at Switzerland. The effect for Swiss companies would still be direct. A firm in Zurich, Basel or Lausanne could develop a product with European partners and remain unable to compete for the public contract that would prove its value.

Swiss industry groups say Europe would also lose access to expertise if Swiss suppliers are kept outside the programme. Stefan Brubacher, director of Swissmem, called the proposal damaging to Switzerland and the EU. “Swiss companies and universities are among the best and most important partners, including our research infrastructure,” he said. “Our companies have a great deal to contribute in this area.”

Swissmem represents the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and metalworking industries, sectors that depend heavily on research networks and international customers. Their concern is less about a single tender than about the accumulated value of participation. Early procurement contracts can provide testing environments, performance data and a public reference that helps a young technology cross into commercial production.

The proposed preference also creates a question for Swiss research institutions. Universities and companies may continue to collaborate with European partners, while access to the money that finances deployment remains restricted. That could encourage European authorities to choose eligible suppliers from other countries, even when a Swiss firm offers a stronger product or already works with the relevant research team.

Brubacher said Swiss representatives must now persuade the EU to include Switzerland in the rules. The country’s negotiating position will be shaped by the wider treaty debate in Bern and Brussels.

Ratifying the new bilateral agreements could eventually give Swiss companies access to the procurement rules, according to sources in Brussels. The European Commission’s proposal therefore links a technical market access issue to Switzerland’s broader political relationship with the EU.

The Swiss government and the European Commission negotiated the new bilateral treaties in 2024. The package is intended to stabilise and expand existing cooperation, and both Brussels and Bern are now carrying out the parliamentary ratification process. The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee approved the package on September 10, 2026, without a debate, and recommended that the full Parliament approve it. The date of the plenary vote remains unknown.

Switzerland must still manage its own approval process. The treaty package faces political scrutiny in Bern, including concerns over how a closer relationship with the EU could affect national decision making and the cantons. Until the agreements take effect, Swiss firms remain dependent on the EU’s existing arrangements and any transitional decisions Brussels may make.

For companies developing hospital technology, artificial intelligence and other research intensive products, the schedule matters. Procurement opportunities arrive through public budgets and tenders, not only through diplomatic announcements. A delay in legal access could leave Swiss innovators watching European customers test competing systems while Bern and Brussels complete the treaty process.