Recently, the Committee on Science, Education and Culture under the Swiss Senate acted on a motion from the House of Representatives and decided to extend Switzerland's GMO ban for two years.

Earlier this year in September, the Swiss government announced plans for a special law to regulate new plant breeding techniques, including a consultation process, which it plans to put out for public comment by the end of the year. The government aims to submit the bill to parliament for consideration in the first quarter of 2026.

In 2022, the Swiss parliament asked the government to submit a draft bill aimed at introducing a system for the approval of new breeding methods based on risk assessment (e.g., CRISPR gene editing technology) by the end of the first half of 2024.

In a statement on October 15, 2024, the parliamentary service suggested that due to slower than expected progress and the legal gap that would result from the expiration of the ban, the Senate committee deemed it necessary to request the House committee to draft a bill extending the ban for two years.

In addition, a popular initiative was launched at the beginning of September calling for the imposition of strict rules on genetic engineering. The initiators of the initiative are particularly opposed to the relaxation of the rules on the use of new genomic technologies for the improvement of plants. They have until March 3, 2026 to collect enough signatures to force a national referendum. The initiative reflects public concern about the potential risks of gene-editing technology in agricultural applications and the stringent requirements of existing regulations.