Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
In today's briefing, we first look abroad: updates on the Swiss-EU agreements, news of the death of a Swiss mercenary in Ukraine and a government statement on the export of war materiel.
Then we return to Switzerland, where there is good news for the bearded vultures soaring over the Alpine skies.
Wishing you an enjoyable read,
A Swiss man has died fighting in Ukraine. He is believed to be the first Swiss national to die as a mercenary in Ukraine’s war against Russia, according to Swiss public television, SRF.
“The Swiss embassy in Kyiv was informed by the Ukrainian army earlier this year that a Swiss national had apparently been killed in action,” confirmed the Swiss foreign ministry. The circumstances of his death remain unclear, and it is not known in which unit or location he was stationed.
The federal government’s military justice system currently has 13 ongoing prosecutions against Swiss citizens who have joined a foreign army, an offence punishable by fines or up to three years’ imprisonment.
On Friday, the House of Representatives’ legal affairs committee is set to discuss a parliamentary initiative proposed by Social Democrat Jon Pult, calling for an amnesty for these individuals. “What they are doing is illegal, but it aligns with Swiss values because [in Ukraine] they are defending democracy and the sovereignty of a country,” argued Pult.
Centre Party parliamentary group leader Philipp Matthias Bregy, also a member of the legal affairs committee, disagrees. “We have a clear ban on mercenaries that must be maintained. Allowing people to go and fight abroad would be difficult to reconcile with our neutrality,” said Bregy.
- Read the full article from the Swiss public broadcaster in GermanExternal link or Italian
The renewal of bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the European Union should not be subject to a mandatory referendum, according to a decision by the foreign policy commission of the House of Representatives.
This move could indirectly smooth the path for adopting the agreements reached between Bern and Brussels.
With 15 votes in favour and 10 against, the decision came as a surprise, particularly given that nine commission members are from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, which strongly opposes closer ties with the EU.
What does this mean? If both the House of Representatives and the Senate align with the commission’s position, the package will not automatically go to a popular vote. However, it is still likely to face a vote, as the 50,000 signatures required for an optional referendum will likely be gathered.
The more significant implication is that, without a mandatory referendum, a popular vote would require only a simple majority of the people, rather than a double majority of both the people and the cantons. This could prove decisive in a vote expected to be closely contested.
- Explanation by Swiss public television, SRFExternal link (in German)
- The differences between optional referendumExternal link and compulsory referendumExternal link, on the Swiss federal government website (available in national languages)
- The Swiss-EU bilateral treaty updates, explained by SWI swissinfo.ch
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The Federal Council wants to be able to make exceptions to arms exports “when essential foreign policy or security interests so require”. On Wednesday, the government presented its message on reforming the War Materiel Act to parliament.
Under the current law, Switzerland is prohibited from exporting war materiel to countries involved in conflicts. The proposed legislative change would give the government greater flexibility to adapt export policies to geopolitical circumstances.
According to the government, the aim is to protect domestic and foreign interests and provide the arms industry with more flexibility while maintaining industrial capacity.
During parliamentary consultations, the amendment received support from rightwing and centre-right parties but faced opposition from Social Democrats, Greens and the parliamentarians from the Protestant Party.
The Group for a Switzerland without an Army has already signalled its intention to launch a referendum.
The Green Party noted that in 2021 parliament rejected a similar clause in the law on exporting war materiel. This contributed to the withdrawal of the “corrective initiative” against arms exports to civil war zones.
- Read the full article by the Corriere del TicinoExternal link
The bearded vulture population in Switzerland is on track to double within the next 10 years. With a wingspan of almost three metres, the bird of prey – also known as the lammergeier – is one of the most majestic animals to grace the Alps.
Once extinct in the Alps at the start of the 20th century, the bearded vulture’s reintroduction – which began in 1986 in Austria – is considered a conservation success. The Swiss Ornithological Institute, the Pro Bearded Vulture Foundation and the University of Bern recently reported that the number of bearded vultures in Switzerland could rise from 350 to 700 in the next decade.
However, experts warn that the death of just a few bearded vultures could jeopardise the population’s growth. It is therefore crucial to mitigate risks such as poaching, collisions with power lines and wind turbines and the illegal poisoning of animals whose bones the lammergeiers consume.
Fun fact: To make its meals more digestible, the bearded vulture drops larger bones from great heights, shattering them on rocks into smaller, easier-to-swallow pieces.
- The story of the reintroduction of the bird of prey by the Swiss Ornithological InstituteExternal link
- Read the news report on SWI swissinfo.ch
Picture of the day
It is rare that we present news about sporting achievements in our briefings, except on historic occasions. Well, today the Swiss men’s Alpine skiing team made history with a clean sweep: they won all three medals in the men’s team combined event at the Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach, Austria.
Lost Cells – a new podcast starts in February 2025
Lost Cells is a new investigative audio documentary series that delves into the world of high-tech health solutions. It examines the trust we place in technology to protect us from future illness – and what happens when that trust is broken.
Lost Cells is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast series, made in collaboration with Piz Gloria Productions, Futur Proche and Studio Ochenta.
Narrated in English, Spanish and French by science journalists, Angela Saini, Esther Sanchez and investigative reporter Antoine Harari, the Lost Cells podcast is available on all major podcast platforms.
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Coming soon: our new investigative podcast ‘Lost Cells’
Translated from Italian using DeepL/amva
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