Switzerland and the European Union on Friday unveiled a deal to carry out the biggest overhaul of their trade ties in years, overcoming Swiss concerns about immigration and setting the scene for a fraught and lengthy approval process.

Switzerland and the European Union have announced a new agreement to update their trading relationship, addressing Swiss concerns about migration. The agreement, hailed as historic, covers multiple areas including electricity,

The European Union and Switzerland - the bloc's fourth largest export market - reached a political deal on Friday to overhaul their trade ties, setting in motion a lengthy approval process.

The European Union and Switzerland announced Friday a new set of agreements aimed at recalibrating relations between the two neighbours after years of often arduous negotiations.

The EU and Switzerland reached a bilateral agreement on Friday worth an estimated €550 billion in trade. But ratification of the deal is far from a foregone conclusion, as the Swiss have yet to vote on it.

The European Union and Switzerland are "very close" to finalising a new agreement to overhaul their trade relationship, a senior EU official said on Thursday.