The upper house of the Swiss parliament rejected the allocation of aid to Ukraine in the amount of 5 billion Swiss francs ($5.5 billion).
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The law that Parliament voted for also provided for the allocation of 10 billion francs for the Swiss armed forces. MPs rejected it on the grounds that it violated the debt brake rule, writes Reuters.
The so-called debt brake is a legal spending cap introduced in 2003. This restriction is intended to require the federal government to balance revenues and expenditures over the economic cycle.
Earlier, the Federal Council and the Swiss Parliament agreed on a slow increase in military spending due to financial problems.
However, in recent weeks, many expected the plan to fail, especially right-wing legislators who were against it.
Lawmakers argued the package violated Switzerland’s so-called “debt brake” provision and rejected it two weeks before the Swiss government is due to hold a high-level summit aimed at helping bring peace to Ukraine.
The package, which was backed by a separate parliamentary committee in April, was intended as an extraordinary contribution to Swiss security and “peace in Europe” due to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Switzerland is under pressure from Western allies to do more to help Ukraine, even as right-wing nationalist lawmakers insist the country remains strictly neutral.
Aid to Ukraine was aimed at supporting the reconstruction and repair of domestic infrastructure in the country.
Source: Racurs
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