The current neutrality has had an impact on Switzerland’s relations with other countries that want to send weapons with Swiss components to Ukraine, but cannot.
The expert working group on Swiss security, created by the Ministry of Defense, suggested to the country’s authorities to look at neutrality and deepen cooperation with NATO and the EU. Politico wrote this on Saturday, August 31.
“Following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Switzerland’s neutrality has once again become the subject of political debate – both at home and abroad. The pressure on Switzerland to clarify its position is growing,” the report said.
Experts do not suggest that Switzerland completely abandon neutrality and join NATO, but call for deepening ties with the Alliance and the EU for joint exercises, defense against ballistic missiles, bilateral and multilateral exercises.
Experts also called for raising the country’s military spending to 1% of GDP by 2030. Switzerland currently spends 0.76% of GDP on defense.
The report’s authors also recommend lifting the ban on the re-export of arms, as Bern prohibits the sale of arms to countries at war. As a result, arms exports fell by 27% last year to less than 746 million euros.
The Swiss government allowed NATO to open a liaison office for international and non-governmental organizations in Geneva.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.