Swiss politicians divided on re-export of war materiel

Parties divided on the re-export of Swiss war materiel. Keystone-SDA

Recipient states of Swiss war materiel should be allowed to transfer it to third countries such as Ukraine after five years, according to a draft document from a commission. At the end of the consultation process the parties are divided.

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The draft of the House of Representative’s Security Policy Committee says a third country may not be involved in an armed conflict unless it exercises its right to self-defence under international law.

+ Switzerland stands firm on war materiel re-export ban

The committee bill also specifies the conditions under which non-re-export declarations that have already been issued can be subsequently revoked. This is with a view to a transfer by the recipient state to Ukraine.

+ How the Ukraine war has changed Switzerland

The Centre Party, the Radical-Liberal Party and the Liberal Green Party see the bill as an unproblematic compromise in terms of neutrality. The Swiss People’s Party rejects the bill and calls for a general liberalisation of the article. The Greens also reject the bill. The Social Democratic Party welcomes the thrust of the proposal, but would still like to see some restrictions.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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