Regulation (EC) No 883/2004
The Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council is part of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) between Switzerland and the European Union (EU). This Regulation is listed in Annex II to the AFMP. Switzerland is therefore part of the EU-wide coordination of social security systems, including Unemployment Insurance. This Regulation sets out, in particular, which country is responsible for performing services if an unemployed person finds themself in a cross-border situation (for example if a cross-border commuter is unemployed).
What are the current regulations with regard to unemployed cross-border commuters?
Currently, if a cross-border commuter is unemployed, the country of residence is responsible for paying unemployment benefits and monitoring efforts to find work. The duration and amount of benefits primarily depend on the domestic law in the country of residence. In this context, the country of employment currently reimburses the country of residence up to a maximum of five months of paid benefits at the rates of the country of residence. Generally, three months must be compensated. The exceptional case of five months of reimbursement by the country of last employment applies if the unemployed cross-border commuter worked for more than 12 of the last 24 months in the country of last employment. Only the benefits actually paid out in accordance with the domestic law in the country of residence are reimbursed. The social security contributions paid to the unemployment insurance go to the country of employment.
Differences in the duration or level of benefits may arise for cross-border commuters who draw their unemployment benefit in different countries of residence. However, such differences result only from domestic law and are not due to EU law or the CH-EU Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons.
How much has Switzerland reimbursed to neighbouring EU member states over the last three years?
The table below summarises the gross reimbursements that Switzerland has paid to France, Germany, Austria and Italy in the last three years.
What is the current revision of Regulation No 883/2004 all about?
The revision first proposed by the European Commission in 2016 is intended to modernise European coordination rules. Under one of the core changes of the proposed revision to Regulation 883/2004, the country of last employment – and not the country of residence as before – would be responsible for paying unemployment benefits to cross-border commuters. This would abolish the current system whereby the country of last employment reimburses the country of residence.
On 22 April 2026, the delegations of the European Council and the Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the revision of Regulation 883/2004 as part of the trilogue procedure. On 29 April 2026 , the Coreper (Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU) approved the provisional agreement. The proposal will now be referred to the European Parliament.
Does the ongoing revision have an impact on Switzerland?
As Regulation 883/2004 is part of the applicable Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (Annex II), the revision is relevant to Switzerland.
Switzerland is not directly involved in revision matters at EU level, but is following the revision of Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems closely.
Only if the revision is definitively adopted by the EU will Switzerland specifically assess the consequences. As many cross-border commuters are employed in Switzerland, the revision would involve additional costs. A concrete estimation of these additional costs cannot be carried out until this work is complete.
What additional costs would need to be anticipated if Switzerland were to adopt the revision?
According to current estimates by SECO, additional costs of between CHF 600 million and CHF 900 million should be assumed. These estimates involve a great deal of uncertainty as Switzerland has little empirical data on unemployed cross-border commuters.
What are the next steps?
The European Union’s institutional process will take some time before the draft is formally adopted. The proposal still needs to be approved by the European Council and the European Parliament. After that, the revised regulation can enter into force.
Any amended regulation does not directly apply in Switzerland. The question of whether the legislation will be adopted by Switzerland will have to be reviewed in due course.
If the revision is formally adopted, it would be up to the European Union to put this on the agenda of the Swiss-EU Joint AFMP Committee. The adoption of the revision (or, more precisely, the updating of the Regulation 883/2004 listed in the Annex of the AFMP), could only take place following the completion of the usual domestic approval procedure, that is, with the express consent of Switzerland, or rather the Swiss legislator.
