The Swiss government should consistently expel Russian and other foreign spies from the country, says a motion passed by a foreign affairs parliamentary committee on Tuesday.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
العربية
ar
لجنة السياسة الخارجية في مجلس النواب السويسري تؤيد طرد الجواسيس الأجانب
The foreign affairs committee of the House of Representatives passed the motion by 11 votes to 9 with one abstention. If both the House and the Senate approve the motion, the government will be forced to consistently expel all foreign persons who endanger Switzerland’s internal or external security or the role of Switzerland as a host state by engaging in prohibited intelligence activities, if they cannot be prosecuted for these activities.
The committee said that spying activities compromise not just sensitive information and secrets of the country, of citizens or of companies but also freedom of opinion and assembly of certain communities. Switzerland’s reputation as a safe host state would also be jeopardised.
More
More
Switzerland’s hands-off approach to espionage
This content was published on
Geneva is one of the world’s espionage hotspots, and the Swiss authorities have long come to terms with it.
A small number of committee members, however, support the current practice of the government, which has been reluctant to expel or convict employees of foreign intelligence services as long as their espionage activities do not threaten Switzerland’s internal security.
Since the outbreak of the war against Ukraine, Russia’s espionage activities in Switzerland have increased, according to the Federal Intelligence Service. Prohibited intelligence service is punishable in Switzerland. However, persons who belong to a diplomatic corps often invoke diplomatic immunity in connection with prohibited intelligence.
Rejection of G7 task force
On Tuesday the foreign affairs committee also rejected by 13 votes to 10 with one abstention a motion calling for Switzerland to join the Group of Seven’s Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs Task Force. The committee sided with the government on the opinion that cooperation with the task force is working well at the technical level and that joining would not bring any added value.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
This content was published on
After reaching a low point at the end of 2024, the Swiss job market showed the first signs of a slight recovery in the first quarter.
This content was published on
Switzerland's dioceses are making arrangements for the faithful to attend the Pope's funeral, including public screenings.
Vulnerable tenants hit hardest by Zurich evictions
This content was published on
More tenants are evicted in Zurich than anywhere else in Switzerland, which particularly affects older people on low incomes.
This content was published on
Swiss National Bank Q1 profits weighed down by foreign currency investments, which the rise in gold was unable to offset.
This content was published on
Switzerland is an attractive target for industrial espionage. For the first time, a study shows the extent of the problem.
This content was published on
As Switzerland reels from a decades-old spying affair, here are some of the country’s most scandalous cases of espionage and data theft.
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.