The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Parliament insists on status quo on arms exports

Economics Minister addressing parliament
Economics Minister Parmelin warned that far-reaching legal amendments could put the the government into serious difficulties over the country's neutrality. © Keystone / Alessandro Della Valle

The Swiss parliament has again failed to put pressure on the government to ease restrictions on the sale of war materiel, including the re-export of weapons.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a proposal to allow the re-export of Swiss war materiel to third countries under certain conditions.

They include a formal statement by the the United Nations General Assembly of a violation of international law by a warring party.

The main right-wing and centre-right parties as well as the Greens voted against the proposal.

Another stronger proposal to allow the sale of arms to third countries if the UN Security Council found a violation of international law won a slim majority in the house.  

However, the decision still needs approval by the other parliamentary chamber, the Senate at a later stage and is unlikely to have a political impact according to experts.

The reason is that the five major powers, Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain, can veto any resolution by the Security Council. 

Status quo

As a result the latest decision by the Swiss parliament merely consolidates the country’s current policy on arms exports.

At least four other proposals are pending in parliament amid a broad public debate in Switzerland over the past few months about the country’s traditional neutrality and the government’s position on arms exports.

On Monday, the Senate rejected a proposal to allow the re-export of Swiss war materiel from like-minded countries. 

+ How a first proposal to ease weapons exports failed in parliament 

Most Read
Swiss Abroad

Most Discussed

News

F/A-18 take-offs and landings at Bern-Belp Airport

More

F/A-18s take off and land at Bern Airport

This content was published on The Swiss Armed Forces are training their fighter jets in Bern to fly from a civilian base. The exercise at Bern Airport will last until Wednesday.

Read more: F/A-18s take off and land at Bern Airport
cern

More

Plans materialise for new particle accelerator in Geneva

This content was published on Preparations for a huge new particle accelerator in Geneva have reached a milestone. After several years of work, a feasibility study for the project has now been finalised.

Read more: Plans materialise for new particle accelerator in Geneva
More Russian assets frozen in Switzerland

More

More Russian assets frozen in Switzerland

This content was published on The value of frozen Russian assets in Switzerland currently stands at CHF7.4 billion ($8.4 billion), the Swiss government announced on Tuesday.

Read more: More Russian assets frozen in Switzerland
Increase in business start-ups in the 1st quarter

More

Increase in Swiss business start-ups in Q1

This content was published on The number of business start-ups in Switzerland accelerated in the first three months of the year, with entrepreneurs being particularly dynamic in Central Switzerland, Basel and Geneva.

Read more: Increase in Swiss business start-ups in Q1

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR