The National Council cuts funding for Swiss aid abroad
Published: Wednesday, Dec 4th 2024, 10:20
Updated At: Thursday, Dec 5th 2024, 00:59
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Switzerland is to have less money available for aid abroad in 2025. The National Council has cut the budget for international cooperation by CHF 250 million in favor of the army, against the opposition of the SP, Greens, GLP and EVP.
On Wednesday, the National Council resumed its deliberations on the 2025 budget. It first decided on the budget items for international cooperation. The cuts had been requested by the conservative majority of the committee. The left and the GLP opposed the cuts totaling CHF 250 million in vain.
The Council cut the credit for bilateral development cooperation by CHF 147.7 million and that for multilateral organizations by CHF 52.3 million. It approved CHF 50 million less than the Federal Council for economic cooperation at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco).
Setting new priorities
The changed geopolitical situation requires new priorities, said Pius Kaufmann (center/LU). Speaking on behalf of the SVP parliamentary group, Andreas Gafner (EDU/BE) said that the security of the population in Switzerland must come first. It was not a question of cuts, but of less growth in expenditure.
The cuts are acceptable, said Alex Farinelli (FDP/TI). The funds for international development aid had increased, more than all other federal expenditure. Conversely, spending on national defense had been reduced, not least in favor of international cooperation.
The SP, Greens, GLP and EVP opposed the cuts in vain. They would be at the expense of individual country programs and multinational cooperation, said Corina Gredig (GLP/ZH) and warned of reputational damage.
"Extremely dangerous in terms of security policy"
In terms of security policy, the cuts are extremely dangerous," warned Cédric Wermuth (SP/AG) and spoke of a "devastating signal to the outside world". With the majority proposals, Beijing and Moscow could expand their influence in the global South.
Gerhard Andrey (Greens/FR) recalled the cultivation of international relations and the credibility of neutral Switzerland. This made the Ukraine summit on the Bürgenstock possible, for example. "Development policy and security policy should not be played off against each other," said Marc Jost (EPP/BE).
The GLP and EPP unsuccessfully requested that the credits for international cooperation remain at the Federal Council's level. The SP and the Greens tried in vain to earmark more funds for international cooperation.
Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter did not want any increases. At the same time, however, she pointed out that certain projects could not be carried out with the short-term cuts desired by the majority.
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