National Council wants to save on foreign aid due to army retrofitting
Published: Wednesday, Dec 4th 2024, 13:50
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The budget debate in the National Council went off without any surprises in the first two days. The additional expenditure decided on for the army and agriculture is to be offset in particular by a CHF 250 million cut in foreign aid.
In the nine hours of debate on next year's federal budget, the Grand Chamber has followed the advice of the Finance Committee on almost all points. Only one minority motion and two individual motions - all relating to details - were successful.
After the National Council allocated half a billion francs more for the army on Tuesday and decided on less funding for federal personnel, the focus on Wednesday was on spending for foreign aid, asylum and agriculture. The conservative majority of the SVP, FDP and Center Party prevailed in the plenary, as it did in the committee.
New priorities required
Specifically, the Grand Chamber cut the budget for international cooperation by CHF 250 million. 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).
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.
Alex Farinelli (FDP/TI) stated that the cuts were acceptable. 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.
"Dangerous cutback"
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.
"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 had 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).
Low asylum figures tracked
The asylum sector will also have to make sacrifices in the coming year. Overall, the large chamber cut expenditure for the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) by CHF 105 million compared to the Federal Council's draft budget.
In addition to a cut of CHF 85 million for the operation of federal asylum centers, the National Council also allocated CHF 20 million less for social assistance for asylum seekers, temporarily admitted persons and refugees. The small chamber will deal with the federal budget from next Monday. Its responsible committee is requesting cuts totaling CHF 185 million in the area of asylum.
In the National Council, committee spokesperson Anna Giacometti (FDP/GR) justified the reduction in the operating expenses of the federal asylum centers with the low asylum numbers. There was no opposition to this. Nine of the 36 temporary federal asylum centers in Switzerland will be closed by the beginning of March.
Agriculture does not have to save money
The National Council does not want to cut direct payments for farmers. The National Council wants to provide over CHF 46 million more for agriculture than the Federal Council, including around CHF 42 million for direct payments to farms. The majority wants to keep spending at the current level, said Pius Kaufmann (center/LU).
The first round of deliberations on the federal budget in the National Council will be concluded on Thursday (tomorrow).
©Keystone/SDA
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