Federal Council wants to continue paying for WEF protection and send soldiers
Published: Wednesday, Feb 14th 2024, 10:50
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The Federal Council wants to continue to support the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos GR in the coming years. It is applying to Parliament for the deployment of a maximum of 5,000 members of the armed forces for 2025 to 2027 and a contribution to the security costs of a maximum of CHF 2.55 million per year.
As in the last three years, the amount would thus remain unchanged and correspond to 25% of the total costs, as the Federal Council announced on Wednesday. The WEF Foundation, on the other hand, wants to increase its contribution to the security costs again by 12.5 percent. This means that the share of Graubünden and Davos will fall from 37.5 percent to 25 percent compared to the last three WEF editions.
Parliament is due to discuss the deployment of the army and participation in its financing in the summer and fall sessions. The commitment credit for three years amounts to CHF 7.65 million. The costs of the army deployment of a maximum of CHF 32 million per year would be covered by the regular army budget.
Increased safety requirements
According to the Federal Council, the police cannot guarantee security for the annual meeting of business, political and social elites on their own. After all, between two and three hundred heads of state, ministers and prominent representatives of international organizations meet at the five-day event, which is protected under international law.
The Federal Council therefore considers it necessary for the army to provide assistance to the canton of Graubünden. All the more so in the coming years because the security situation has deteriorated. The Federal Council cites upheavals such as the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the resurgence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other types of threats.
The Swiss government considers the annual meeting of elites from business, politics and society to be an "important platform", as it announced. It offers the opportunity to establish numerous contacts with high-ranking individuals and to represent Swiss positions and concerns. The WEF is also of economic importance for Graubünden and Davos. The WEF also strengthens Switzerland's role as a host country for international conferences.
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