Calls for Switzerland to Reconsider Its 500-Year-Old Policy of Neutrality
An expert group has called on Switzerland to reconsider its stance on neutrality and to enhance cooperation on security matters with both the EU and NATO. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Swiss experts are calling for closer cooperation on security issues with the EU and NATO, arguing that it is time for Switzerland to reassess its long-standing neutrality, which has been in place since 1515. This perspective is outlined in a report commissioned by the defense ministry in Bern. Critics, however, have countered that the panel behind the report is biased and assert that neutrality is firmly established in the country’s constitution.
The study committee, formed a year ago, shared its findings on Thursday, offering 100 recommendations aimed at enhancing Switzerland's security.
The report suggests that “the neutrality policy needs to be revised, more focused on its security function and applied more flexibly,” as posited by the members of the diverse panel comprising politicians, economists, and scientists from various age groups and regions.
A significant recommendation emphasizes that Switzerland’s “cooperation with NATO and the EU must continue to be deepened with a view to achieving a common defense capability and becoming a genuine defense cooperation.”
Additionally, the commission proposed an increase in the nation’s defense budget from 0.75% of GDP to 1% by 2030. The majority of the panel also expressed support for lifting the 1998 ban on re-exporting arms to countries at war, a measure that has previously complicated military aid to Ukraine from EU states using Swiss-made components.
The paper argues that changing Swiss neutrality policies is essential due to a “sharp deterioration in the situation in Europe, marked by power politics, increasingly destabilized crisis regions and, above all, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.”
These recommendations will be considered in the development of Switzerland's new security policy, set to be unveiled in 2025. Controversy surrounded the expert group's paper even before its release, with critics alleging that Viola Amherd, the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), deliberately selected experts opposed to neutrality.
On Thursday, the opposition Swiss People’s Party (SVP) criticized the report, arguing that the “politically one-sided” group demonstrated a “disregard of the constitutionally guaranteed perpetual… neutrality of our country.” The SVP statement claimed, “It is an open secret that… Amherd wants to destroy Swiss neutrality and throw herself into the arms of NATO and the EU.”
Despite not being a member of the EU or NATO, Switzerland has adopted nearly all Western sanctions against Russia following the Ukraine conflict and has frozen billions of dollars in Russian assets. In early 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov remarked that these actions led Moscow to no longer consider Switzerland a neutral country.
In June, the Swiss government hosted a Ukraine peace conference, which was not attended by Russia. Moscow characterized the summit—focusing solely on Ukraine's proposals—as a “parody of negotiations,” asserting that it would not have participated even if Bern had invited a Russian delegation.
Rohan Mehta contributed to this report for TROIB News
The study committee, formed a year ago, shared its findings on Thursday, offering 100 recommendations aimed at enhancing Switzerland's security.
The report suggests that “the neutrality policy needs to be revised, more focused on its security function and applied more flexibly,” as posited by the members of the diverse panel comprising politicians, economists, and scientists from various age groups and regions.
A significant recommendation emphasizes that Switzerland’s “cooperation with NATO and the EU must continue to be deepened with a view to achieving a common defense capability and becoming a genuine defense cooperation.”
Additionally, the commission proposed an increase in the nation’s defense budget from 0.75% of GDP to 1% by 2030. The majority of the panel also expressed support for lifting the 1998 ban on re-exporting arms to countries at war, a measure that has previously complicated military aid to Ukraine from EU states using Swiss-made components.
The paper argues that changing Swiss neutrality policies is essential due to a “sharp deterioration in the situation in Europe, marked by power politics, increasingly destabilized crisis regions and, above all, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.”
These recommendations will be considered in the development of Switzerland's new security policy, set to be unveiled in 2025. Controversy surrounded the expert group's paper even before its release, with critics alleging that Viola Amherd, the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), deliberately selected experts opposed to neutrality.
On Thursday, the opposition Swiss People’s Party (SVP) criticized the report, arguing that the “politically one-sided” group demonstrated a “disregard of the constitutionally guaranteed perpetual… neutrality of our country.” The SVP statement claimed, “It is an open secret that… Amherd wants to destroy Swiss neutrality and throw herself into the arms of NATO and the EU.”
Despite not being a member of the EU or NATO, Switzerland has adopted nearly all Western sanctions against Russia following the Ukraine conflict and has frozen billions of dollars in Russian assets. In early 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov remarked that these actions led Moscow to no longer consider Switzerland a neutral country.
In June, the Swiss government hosted a Ukraine peace conference, which was not attended by Russia. Moscow characterized the summit—focusing solely on Ukraine's proposals—as a “parody of negotiations,” asserting that it would not have participated even if Bern had invited a Russian delegation.
Rohan Mehta contributed to this report for TROIB News
