The Swiss delegation was received at the Belgian Parliament by Peter De Roover, president of the Chamber of Representatives, Vincent Blondel, president of the Senate, Anne Capoen, president of the Belgium-Switzerland Friendship Group, and a number of Belgian MPs. Discussions focused on strengthening bilateral relations between Switzerland and Belgium, parliamentary cooperation and international issues.
The delegation also visited the European Parliament, where members met with Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, and Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, president of the Committee on Security and Defence. The meeting covered a range of topics including European cooperation in the fields of security, armaments and defence, as well as the role of parliaments in managing security policy challenges and regional crises, particularly in the context of support for Ukraine. They also discussed the parliamentary timetable for deliberations on the package of agreements between Switzerland and the European Union, the negotiation of which was completed in the summer. The delegation also stressed Switzerland's interest in being exempted from the measures on steel (exemption is currently granted to the states of the European Economic Area and EFTA) and made the case in favour of a fair outcome.
The delegation also held talks with Benedetta Berti and Henrik Bliddal, the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA), on the changing Euro-Atlantic security environment, the role of parliaments in defending democratic values and the current priorities of the NATO PA.
The members of the delegation also met with Javier Colomina, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy and Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood, and Piers Cazalet, Director of Defence and Security Cooperation. Discussions focused on the situation in Ukraine, lessons learned from the JATEC mechanism and NATO-Switzerland cooperation in the framework of the Partnership for Peace. Switzerland's contribution to the KFOR mission, in which it has participated since 1999, was also discussed in the context of the Federal Council's forthcoming review of Switzerland's continued participation in KFOR.
Finally, the Swiss delegation visited the Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, which conducts advanced research on aerodynamics and propulsion and welcomes Swiss students and researchers as part of projects carried out in partnership with ETH Zurich, EPFL, the Paul Scherrer Institute and CERN. It also visited the Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques, a major player in aeronautics and the assembly of components for the aeronautics and space industry in Europe, which, as part of a partnership with Pilatus, contributes to the assembly process, in particular for the aerostructures of the Pilatus PC-12.
The visit allowed the Swiss delegation to strengthen dialogue with its Belgian and European counterparts, exchange views with transatlantic cooperation stakeholders and gain a better understanding of current European and international security issues.