Council of States committee wants army to take part in NATO exercises
Published: Friday, Aug 30th 2024, 12:30
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The Swiss Armed Forces should continue to be able to take part in exercises in which NATO trains the so-called alliance case. This is the opinion of the responsible Council of States committee. The National Council takes a different view.
In the summer session, the Grand Chamber adopted a motion by its Security Policy Committee (SIK-N) to ban the army from NATO alliance training. The sister committee of the Council of States (SIK-S) has now proposed rejecting the motion without a dissenting vote and with one abstention, as reported by the parliamentary services on Friday.
The participation of the Swiss Armed Forces in NATO defense exercises is important for the interests of Swiss security policy, it said. Such training strengthens defense capabilities.
According to the SIK-S, the motion is based on a "false premise": Participation in NATO defense exercises should not simulate Swiss participation in a collective defense case. The question of neutrality therefore does not arise for the Commission.
In addition, parts of the Swiss Armed Forces have been taking part in exercises with defense sequences for a long time. "The SIK-S believes it makes sense to maintain and, if necessary, expand this participation."
The Federal Council must already approve participation in such exercises today. In the eyes of the Council of States Committee, this is sufficient. The Council of States will discuss the matter in the fall session.
The so-called Alliance case refers to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. It states that NATO considers an attack on one of the alliance countries to be an attack against all of them. In such a case, NATO would provide assistance to the attacked country.
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