GoKawiilUntil June 19, the Federal Palace in Bern will once again be bustling with activity. Numerous important issues will be on the agenda during the summer session of the National Council and Council of States.
Petar Marjanović
No time? blue News summarizes for you From June 1 to 19, 2026, the Federal Parliament’s summer session will take place at the Federal Palace.
Topics up for debate include the 13th AHV pension, the armed forces, and federal finances.
blue News is providing updates from the Federal Palace here in this live feed. Show more
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Thursday, June 18, 10:47 a.m. Parliament Lifts Ban on New Nuclear Power Plants After Marathon Debate The construction of new nuclear power plants is set to become possible again in Switzerland. Following the Federal Council and the Council of States, the National Council now shares this view. On Thursday, it approved the counterproposal to the Blackout Initiative. The final decision will rest with the people. By a vote of 100 to 98, the National Council rejected a motion to refer the matter back to the Federal Council for clarification of financing issues. On Monday, the lower house had voted 100 to 97, with 2 abstentions, in favor of referring the matter back to the Federal Council. The Council of States subsequently rejected this by a clear margin.
10:50 a.m. Parliaments Raise VAT for 13th AHV Pension Value-added tax will be increased for the 13th AHV pension, but not the payroll contribution rates. This is because the National Council approved only one of the two parts of the financing bill on Wednesday. Additional payroll deductions for the AHV are thus off the table for the time being.
4:35 a.m. Financing of the 13th AHV pension to be decided The National Council will decide today whether or not the 13th AHV pension will be paid out without funding. The issue of funding is controversial. The Conciliation Conference is proposing a mixed funding model involving higher VAT and higher payroll contributions. The Council of States has already approved this proposal. However, the National Council had previously insisted on financing solely through the value-added tax. Regarding the Conciliation Conference’s proposal, it can now only vote “yes” or “no”—or, more specifically, approve the additional percentage points of the value-added tax. If the Council votes “no” on both partial proposals, the financing plan will have failed.
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