Parliament wants to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium-sized entreprises as well as the country's regions. It has approved the CHF646 million ($720 million) requested by the government for economic promotion between 2024 and 2027. On Monday, the Senate agreed with the House of Representatives on the final points.
The two largest envelopes were the subject of debate. Both the federal government and the House of Representatives wanted to earmark CHF233 million for the promotion agency Switzerland Tourism, while the Senate wanted an additional CHF13 million. In the end, the Senate decided against the increase on Monday.
With regard to the amount for the Regional Development Fund for 2024-2031, the government, supported by the House, had earmarked CHF217.3 million, but the Senate wanted CHF12.7 million more than that, before finally relenting.
The two chambers had already reached an agreement on the other four credit requests, concerning export promotion (CHF99 million), the promotion of Switzerland as a business location (CHF18.5 million), the development of e-government (CHF32.8 million) and the promotion of innovation (CHF45.4 million).