Switzerland should consider a more flexible approach to its historic neutrality and seek to strengthen its defense cooperation with NATO and the EU, suggests a report by a commission set up by the Swiss defense ministry and released today.
This committee, tasked in July 2023 with defining a security policy adapted to today’s threats, underlines that the security situation in Europe has greatly deteriorated, mainly due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the report, the war opens the door to a larger conflict with the North Atlantic Alliance, and Switzerland’s neutrality does not guarantee that it will not be attacked.
Its report includes more than 100 recommendations, mainly regarding neutrality, international cooperation, equipment policy and the orientation of the Swiss Confederation’s security strategy.
“Switzerland cannot represent a security vacuum in Europe. Its geographical position in the middle of the EU makes the need for cooperation in the field of defense obvious”, it states.
“Neutrality is not an obstacle to a cooperation with NATO in the field of security policy”, adds the commission, according to which “the policy of neutrality should be revised, focus more on the security function and be implemented in a more flexible way”. .
Cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union must be “further deepened” in favor of a “common defense capability”, he argues.
“Like all other European countries” Switzerland “is not safe from hybrid threats”, the committee estimates.
According to the report, hybrid warfare is indeed “the main threat” to the country, which is “an interesting target” due to its important infrastructure in the fields of energy or international payments, “also decisive for Europe”.
Consequently, “access to cooperation plans with the EU and NATO should be ensured”, he concludes.
Switzerland’s longstanding position is that of military neutrality despite the fact that the country has armed forces. The enclave country is not a member of either the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union, while its neighboring countries Germany, Italy, France are members and Austria is a member of the EU.
In its report, the commission also calls for stepped-up diplomatic efforts on international arms control and regulatory authorities for new technologies. It also proposes increasing the defense budget to 1% of GDP by 2030.
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