{
  "id": 15270317,
  "title": "Auf eigene Faust gegen das EU-Diktat: Schweizer Firmen lobbyieren in Brüssel stärker als die meisten Europäer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/auf-eigene-faust-gegen-das-eu-diktat-schweizer-firmen-lobbyieren-in",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-17T19:53:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "NZZ Wirtschaft",
    "slug": "nzz-wirtschaft",
    "url": "https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/auf-eigene-faust-gegen-das-eu-diktat-schweizer-firmen-lobbyieren-in-bruessel-staerker-als-die-meisten-europaeer-ld.10032392"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "The Swiss Confederation cannot directly present its economic interests in the EU due to its non-member status. Faced with this limitation, Swiss businesses and associations have taken it upon themselves to regulate Brussels. Politicians and officials possess a talent that few journalists or writers can match: they can evoke strong emotions in their audience with dry and cumbersome language. Brussels bureaucrats have mastered this skill particularly well. Their rules not only drive entrepreneurs in EU member countries to despair, but also Swiss economic representatives. The NZZ.ch news portal, requiring JavaScript for key functions, notes that \"I can write a book about EU standards, laws, guidelines, and regulations that have brought administration, cost increases, and a lot of bureaucracy,\" says Dieter Brunner, CEO and co-founder of the machine manufacturer Eprotec in Regensdorf, Zurich. The company produces highly precise melting pumps for the recycling industry and supplies companies like packaging film manufacturers. From August, EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will increase the recycling percentage in packaging. While Brunner welcomes the objective, he is frustrated with the EU bureaucrats' implementation. \"The regulation makes every plastic end product a separate documentation project.\" As Eprotec generates about half of its revenue in the EU, it is strongly affected by the PPWR. However, the company had no input in the creation of the new regulation. In the future, this is expected to change. Brunner no longer wants to simply accept EU regulations; instead, he wants to influence them where they are created: in Brussels. The Swiss company has therefore registered itself in the EU Transparency Register in recent weeks, hoping to exchange views with EU parliamentarians and officials on future regulations, in the hope that they will listen. Eprotec is not an isolated case. According to Lobby Facts, an organization that analyzes EU lobbying data, there are 387 companies, associations, and other organizations from Switzerland registered in Brussels. Among them are well-known companies like Novartis, Roche, Nestlé, and UBS, which spend millions annually on lobbying in Brussels. Also registered are Economiesuisse, Swissmem, the Swiss Bankers Association, as well as associations from the watch and textile industries, the automotive and electricity industries, and sports organizations like FIFA, UEFA, and the International Olympic Committee, all of which have their headquarters in Switzerland. They all share the same goal: to influence EU regulations before they emerge. With Switzerland not being an EU member and its laws being made in Bern, this presence is quite high. Only nine EU countries have more registered organizations. The leader is Belgium with 2,784 registered actors. Following Germany (2,192), France (1,661), Italy (1,155), and Spain (1,086). Mid-sized EU countries like Austria (400) and Sweden (399), which are economically relatively strong, have approximately the same number of company and association representatives in Brussels as Switzerland. Other countries like Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Greece, and Portugal, which are economically weaker but have more inhabitants than Switzerland, show a lower presence. Andreas Dür, who has been dealing with EU law and lobbying for years, attributes the high presence of Swiss economic representatives mainly to the impact: Around half of Swiss exports go to the EU. \"Whoever supplies the internal market must comply with EU rules,\" says political scientist Andreas Dür of the University of Salzburg. Additionally, Switzerland absorbs a lot of EU law through bilateral agreements or \"autonomous follow-up\". The official Switzerland has no say in the creation of new laws and does not have members in the European Parliament. \"The Swiss presence in Brussels is often the only channel for influence for Swiss economic actors\" because Switzerland takes on regulations without voting rights. Many economic representatives confirm this assessment. Companies from EU member states could present their interests through national governments, according to a spokesperson for the steel company Swiss Steel, which is also present in Brussels. \"Swiss companies do not have this access because Switzerland is not an EU member.\" Export-oriented Swiss businesses must take on this work themselves, says Stephan Jäggi, business manager of the Free Auto Dealers Association Switzerland (VFAS): \"The impact is high, the say zero.\" Stefan Brupbacher, Director of Swissmem, speaks of an \"institutional disadvantage\" that must be compensated. The high lobbying need shows how many areas of EU regulations affect Swiss businesses. A spokesperson for Swiss Textiles, the association of the textile and clothing industry, says: \"EU regulations directly affect Swiss companies.\" The EU is the biggest sales market for the industry, accounting for over 75% of its revenue. To sell in the EU, companies must comply with EU laws concerning product safety, packaging, and labeling. Swiss automobile dealers also depend \"almost completely\" on rules from Brussels. The basis is the agreement on the mutual recognition of conformity assessment.",
  "summary": "Die Eidgenossenschaft kann die Interessen ihrer Wirtschaft bei der EU nicht direkt einbringen. Um die Brüsseler Bürokratie einzudämmen, nehmen Schweizer Firmen und Verbände das Heft deshalb selbst in die Hand.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}