Official visit of council presidents Irène Kälin and Thomas Hefti to the Vatican and Rome

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The presidents of the National Council and of the Council of States, along with Ignazio Cassis, President of the Swiss Confederation, attended the swearing-in of 36 recruits of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, a ceremony held on 6 May each year in memory of the soldiers who fell during the Sack of Rome in 1527. Ms Kälin, Mr Hefti and Mr Cassis met with Pope Francis and presented the site of the new Swiss embassy to the Holy See. They also visited the Swiss Institute in Rome. The Institute hosts numerous Swiss researchers and artists each year, and contributes to extending Switzerland's cultural and academic influence outside its borders.

In addition to the ceremony at the Vatican, on Thursday, 5 May, Ms Kälin and Mr Hefti attended a working meeting in Rome with Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, the president of the Italian senate. Their talks focused on current bilateral and international issues. During the meeting, the presidents emphasised the importance of economic and cultural relations between Switzerland and Italy. They also discussed the bilateral agreement on the taxation of cross-border commuters, which is currently awaiting ratification by the Italian parliament, as well as the war in Ukraine and its impact on Europe.

The last parliamentary meeting at presidential level was in 2019, when the then president of the National Council, Marina Carobbio Guscetti (SP, TI), was received by her Italian counterpart Roberto Fico.

Ms Kälin and Mr Hefti were accompanied by the head of the delegation for relations with the Italian parliament (Del-I), National Council member Greta Gysin (Greens, TI), who had the opportunity during this official visit to meet her counterpart in the Italian parliament, Cristian Romaniello (MISTO/Lombardy group), who is a member of the Chamber of Deputies. Ms Gysin and Mr Romaniello addressed the issue of taxation of cross-border commuters, as well as discussing cross-border cooperation from a regional perspective.

Collaboration and contacts between the parliaments contribute to the institutional dialogue between Switzerland and Italy and provide an important channel for bilateral and multilateral exchange. The two countries enjoy close economic, political, social and cultural relations. Italy is Switzerland's third most important trading partner, and Italian nationals in Switzerland form the largest foreign community in the country. This is an important social factor in relations between the two countries, and one which boosts the importance of the Italian language in Switzerland.

The presidents of the National Council and Council of States, Irène Kälin and Thomas Hefti, greet the 36 Swiss Guards who were sworn in on 6 May 2022.

The swearing-in ceremony of the Pontifical Swiss Guard at the Vatican.

In Rome, the presidents of the National Council and the Council of States, Irène Kälin and Thomas Hefti, met with the president of the Italian Senate Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati.

At the end of the meeting in Rome, Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati showed Irène Kälin and Thomas Hefti Constitution Hall in the Giustiniani palace.

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