Unification Conference must deal with future UNRWA contribution
Published: Wednesday, Dec 20th 2023, 11:00
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The 2024 federal budget goes to the agreement conference. In the third round of consultations on Wednesday, the National Council insisted on the removal of the contribution to the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the waiver of a contribution to the Regional Policy Fund.
By 106 votes to 85 with one abstention, the large chamber voted for a third time to cancel the UNRWA contribution altogether. This involves 20 million francs.
The Council of States originally did not want any cuts at all. However, as a compromise, it proposed to the upper chamber that the corresponding budget item be reduced by CHF 10 million. According to this proposal, the Federal Council would not necessarily have to save the amount at UNRWA.
As in the National Council's previous deliberations, a conservative majority justified its position by claiming that UNRWA employees had glorified terror against Israel. The opposing side considered the accusations to be insufficiently substantiated, emphasized the importance of the organization for aid to the population in the Gaza Strip and feared damage to Switzerland's reputation.
Funds already committed
Felix Wettstein (Greens/SO) campaigned in vain for the Council of States' compromise proposal. He warned that many countries in the international community would react with incomprehension to a deletion. After all, Switzerland had committed itself to supporting UNRWA through pledges.
Lars Guggisberg (SVP/BE) disagreed, stating that it was only about 0.5 percent of Swiss payments for humanitarian aid and development cooperation. This would not call Switzerland's role in the world into question. Pius Kaufmann (centre/LU) said that aid funds should flow into the crisis region in the Middle East via organizations other than UNRWA.
A clear majority of the FDP also voted in favor of the deletion. Peter Schilliger (LU) pointed out on behalf of the liberal group that Parliament had allocated CHF 90 million elsewhere for emergency aid for the people in the Gaza Strip.
Sarah Wyss (SP/BS), on the other hand, said that a complete deletion would be dubious. She appealed to the conservative majority in the Council to seek a compromise with the Council of States. Because if the Councils do not reach an agreement, there will be less money available for other purposes. The left was supported by the GLP.
No compromise on regional policy
The National Council also rejected a second compromise proposal on the promotion of regional business locations. The small chamber had offered to halve the contribution of CHF 25 million to the regional policy fund. However, the National Council still wants to do without it completely.
Last week, the councils had already agreed in principle to reduce the contributions to the rail infrastructure fund in order to be able to comply with the debt brake requirements in the budget for the coming year.
The move was necessary in particular because Parliament wants to forego a reduction in direct payments to farmers and increase funding for regional passenger transport by CHF 55 million compared to the Federal Council's proposal.
The final amount of the cut will depend on what Parliament decides on the outstanding points. The National Council's version currently amounts to CHF 16 million, while the Council of States' version is CHF 38 million.
Tug-of-war over army spending
The National Council has the upper hand in the upcoming budget negotiations. If one chamber of parliament rejects the proposal of the conciliation conference, the decision of the council that provides for less expenditure will apply.
The financial plan for the years 2025 to 2027 will also be a topic at the agreement conference. The Council of States wants military spending to increase to one percent of gross domestic product by 2030. Like the Federal Council, the National Council wants to extend the deadline to 2035. It narrowly maintained its position by 98 votes to 97 with one abstention.
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