On Monday, 15 November, President of the National Council Andreas Aebi attended a working meeting in the Austrian capital with his counterpart, Wolfgang Sobotka. Among the topics on the agenda were cooperation between Switzerland and Austria, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and relations with the EU.

Andreas Aebi travelled to Vienna on 14 November for an official visit to the president of the Austrian National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka. A working meeting between the two presidents was rounded off by a cultural programme. Mr Aebi and Mr Sobotka discussed the bilateral relations between their two countries and their cooperation as neighbours during the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the strategic partnership between Switzerland and Austria, which was signed by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis and the then Austrian foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg in Vienna last June. This MoU is a non-binding instrument aimed at extending cooperation in certain areas – for instance fostering the representation of interests and mutual assistance in third countries. A further topic was Switzerland's and Austria's relations with the European Union.

This meeting was a continuation of the close bilateral exchange that has been established between the two parliaments in recent years, particularly in connection with the ongoing pandemic.


National Council president Andreas Aebi in Vienna ©Parlamentsdirektion/Johannes Zinner


Signing the visitors book with Austrian National Council president Wolfgang Sobotka (left) ©Parlamentsdirektion/Johannes Zinner


Andreas Aebi with Austrian National Council president Wolfgang Sobotka. ©Parlamentsdirektion/Johannes Zinner


Andreas Aebi in the gallery of the Austrian National Council chamber. ©Parlamentsdirektion/Johannes Zinner