Swiss Senate votes to spend CHF11.3bn on foreign aid
The Swiss Senate has approved a total of almost CHF11.3 billion for aid to be spent abroad over the next four years, which broadly follows the Federal Council's proposal.
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During the vote, the parliamentary chamber approved each of the three government resolutions on international cooperation with a clear majority. The Swiss People’s Party and the Radicals voted against.
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A motion for referral by Benjamin Mühlemann (Radical Party) was unsuccessful. The Glarus native wanted foreign aid to make savings of CHF2 billion in favor of higher military spending.
Esther Friedli (Swiss People’s Party) wanted to reduce the credit for development cooperation by CHF800 million. However, her individual motion was also rejected.
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Amendments from the ranks of the Social Democrats also failed to find a majority. The main issue was whether reconstruction aid to Ukraine should also be financed from the international cooperation budget.
The left wing of the Senate argued that this would result in a massive cut in funding in other regions of the world. This faction demanded a different financing solution.
The matter now goes to the House of Representatives chamber for debate.
Translated from German by DeepL/mga
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