This Wednesday, Germany announced that it would deliver 14 Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, after weeks of hesitation and under increasing pressure from several allied countries. The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, justified himself by saying that he was advancing “little by little” and had to “break with what we have been doing for decades.”
While Westerners are delivering more and more weapons to Kyiv, especially heavy weapons, one country is always an exception: Switzerland. However, also among the Swiss, these questions are becoming more important and the pressure is getting stronger.
Federal Council veto
In Switzerland, the parliamentary committee on security policy has broken a longstanding taboo. He said on Tuesday that he was in favor by 14 votes to 11 of the re-export of arms to Ukraine, that is to say to a country at war, which partly calls into question his principle of neutrality.
However, Swiss law on military equipment stipulates that countries purchasing military equipment from Switzerland must sign a non-re-export declaration, which means they must obtain Swiss approval to deliver this equipment to Ukraine. In the same way that countries in possession of Leopard tanks had to wait for the green light from Germany to send them to Kyiv.
Until now, the Federal Council – the country’s executive body – has always vetoed it. In fact, on several occasions since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Denmark, Spain and even Germany have asked Bern for permission to re-export military equipment purchased from Switzerland to Ukraine.
Ukraine, a country “involved in an international armed conflict”
“There are still no grounds to respond favorably to Germany’s request to send Swiss war materiel to Ukraine” in the name of the neutrality law and Swiss legislation on war materiel, Guy Parmelin, the economy minister, wrote last November in a letter to the German. Defense Minister, following a new request from Berlin.
In this case, it concerns thousands of munitions destined for the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, effective in particular for destroying in flight the Iranian missiles and drones used by the Russians against Ukrainian territory. For the moment, these munitions remain inactive in German military warehouses, awaiting authorization from the Swiss Federal Council.
For its part, Denmark wants to deliver Swiss-made Piranha tanks to Ukraine and Spain wants to do the same with Swiss-made anti-aircraft guns.
“The equal treatment resulting from the neutrality law does not allow Switzerland to approve a request to send war material of Swiss origin to Ukraine while this country is involved in an international armed conflict,” the Swiss minister continued in his press. launching.
circumvent the law
In its motion, Parliament’s Security Policy Commission wants to authorize the revocation of these non-re-export clauses that appear in agreements with third countries. Thus, according to her, since it is not about the direct export of war material in conflict zones by Switzerland itself, this change does not call into question the principle of neutrality of the country.
To get around all this, he offers two clues. First of all, the idea would be to introduce an exception in the law: Switzerland could authorize the re-export of arms to a country at war when the UN Security Council or two thirds of its general assembly denounce the violation of the international prohibition of the use of force, as in the case of Russian aggression.
Another project: emergency legislation specific to the current situation, a Ukraineto allow the re-export of weapons to Kyiv only, for specific and limited use in this conflict.
Pressure from NATO members
This change in interpretation of the principle of neutrality was possible thanks to the change of position of certain parties, in particular the Socialist Party, which traditionally opposes the Swiss arms export policy but whose elected representatives now consider that the situation deserves an exception. and what a status quo It is equivalent to playing the game of Russia.
Beyond internal pressures, Switzerland also faces criticism from Western countries allied with Ukraine. Since Davos last week, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, if he does not mention Switzerland outright, has sent out a clear message.
“I call on all nations to help provide military support to Ukraine… This is not about neutrality. It is about respecting the right to self-defense, protecting the rule of law and upholding the charter of the United Nations,” he said. in statements reported by RTS.
Same story on the side of Berlin, a client of the Swiss armaments company, which has made it known that in the future it could resort to other countries to supply itself with military material. “When you make such decisions, you also have to accept that your friends and associates turn to other providers,” Christian Linder, German Finance Minister, told SRF. A position that also worries the Swiss arms industry.
The first party in the country opposed to any change
If the wind is changing significantly in Switzerland, especially in Parliament, this change around the principle of neutrality is far from registered. For said amendment to enter into force, the agreement of both chambers of the Swiss Parliament is necessary.
Furthermore, in some cases, as allowed by the country’s Constitution, the measure could even be put to a referendum by citizens, if a sufficient number of opposition signatures were gathered.
The vast majority of the population remains very attached to neutrality and even some elected officials believe, for example, that sending humanitarian aid or adopting sanctions are already violations of this principle, such as the Unión Democrática de centro (UDC), a radical extreme right. party and the main party of the country.
Other initiatives have already emerged in recent months, mainly from the Radical Liberal Party (PLR, right), in particular to implement a kind of “cooperative neutrality”, but all have been rejected.
“Even Switzerland”
The debate on neutrality had already been strongly revived when adopting all the sanctions established against Russia by the European Union. US President Joe Biden was also pleased that “even Switzerland” has resumed sanctions against the Kremlin.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces ended the historic neutrality of Finland and Sweden, now candidates for NATO membership. This conflict is a new test for Switzerland, officially neutral since 1516. “How long can a nation remain neutral in the 21st century?” asked the Munich daily Süddeutsche Zeitung last November.
Although Switzerland opts for neutrality in the face of the conflicts that surround it, it nonetheless produces weapons or ammunition that it sells and is torn. In addition, on the international scene, he defends values very close to those held by the UN, although he only joined the organization in 2002.
From a diplomatic point of view, neighboring countries and allies are beginning to question Bern’s real reliability in an emergency. “What would happen if a NATO member country was attacked and Swiss-made ammunition could not be delivered because of that neutrality?” asked Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chairwoman of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee.
Source: BFM TV
