Mo, Jan 16th 2023
Neutrality and Switzerland have been so intrinsically linked that the two words have become interchangeable in our culture.
A group of Swiss politicians are drafting a reform that would allow some European countries to export Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine, according to a report in local newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.
Allowing Swiss-made ammunition to be sent to nations who intend to send it to other, warring countries is a direct violation of Switzerland’s War Materials Act – a key element of the country’s longstanding commitment to neutrality. In the 10 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, Switzerland has stuck firmly to its position on exporting ammunition, despite a chorus of unrelenting criticism from EU nations such as Germany and Denmark.
Germany’s defense minister Christine Lambrecht has been the most outspoken critic of Switzerland’s refusal to bend its War Materials Act. For months, Lambrecht has been writing angry letters to her Swiss counterpart Viola Amherd, calling for Switzerland to send 12,000 35mm rounds of Swiss-made ammunition for Gepard air defense tanks. The tanks have been used to defend Ukraine against Russia’s air missile attacks, especially on its Black Sea coast where Ukraine is trying to export wheat. Lambrecht went so far as to accuse Switzerland of aggravating famines in African countries that need Ukrainian wheat.
Switzerland has formally refused Germany twice, most recently reminding the country that it had no problem with Switzerland’s neutrality during World War II when Germany benefitted from its principles. Last Thursday, Spain joined the European call for Switzerland to relax its ammunitions restrictions.
“We understand, respect and accept neutrality, but we need authorization from Switzerland for this type of material, which is not being given at the moment,” Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles reportedly told a meeting of ambassadors. Robles has asked the Spanish ambassador to Switzerland to present the matter in Bern, according to a Europress newspaper.
Ukrainians wait at the border of Poland — one of the EU nations that has been calling on Switzerland to change its War Materials Act.
A group of far-right, centrist and liberal Swiss politicians in the upper house of parliament are working on a reform to the War Materials Act. Such a reform would allow for “a certain group of democratic states with their own export controls” to send Swiss-made ammunition onto Ukraine without first asking for consent from Bern. It would be Switzerland’s first change to its restrictive law that has been a cornerstone of its historic neutrality.
“I cannot understand why we are not supplying weapons to an aspiring democracy in Europe that has to defend itself on its territory, while we are doing this to countries that don’t share our values in any way over and over again,” parliamentarian Beat Flach from the Green party said in 2022. Flach has been one of the most outspoken advocates for relaxing the War Materials Act in the name of the Russo-Ukraine conflict.
“I want to allow arms exports if a democracy has to defend itself on its own territory,” Flach said. Some Swiss historians argue that the law could be changed to make a distinction between war material used for offensive purposes and war material used for defensive purposes.
The proposed reform has both advocates and critics in every political party of Switzerland; which, only serves to depict how controversial the proposal is viewed. Many members of Switzerland’s dominant right-wing Swiss People’s Party say no changes should be made to the law, as well as a large group of left-wing politicians in the lower parliamentary house.
Passing such a reform in Swiss Parliament could take weeks if it is passed at all, political experts say.
Parliament’s upper house could reach a compromise on the proposed reform as early as February, according to NZZ. That said, the bill would then go to the lower house where it could be blocked. Even if a reform is made to the War Materials Act, it could be a long time before any ammunition makes its way to Ukraine.
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