Neutral Switzerland Dips Its Toe In European Military Activities

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) The Swiss government has decided to participate in military projects of the European Union. What does this mean for the country's neutrality?

Where does Switzerland stand? Where is it heading? Its developments are my focus.

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There will not be a European army any time soon. But military co-operation has increased on the continent, driven by the actions of the United States and Russia.

Under President Barack Obama, the US chose to focus on the Pacific region. His successor, Donald Trump, at times massively undermined the integrity of its most important allies.

In response, many European leaders began discussing how Europe could guarantee its own security. The large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has significantly accelerated the debate and turned words into action.

How will neutral Switzerland position itself? A decisionExternal link recently taken by the government has sparked a heated debate in the country.

The Federal Council (executive body) has decided that Switzerland will participate in two projects of PESCO, or Permanent Structured Co-operation, which is the military arm of the EU.

• The Military Mobility project's aim is to simplify and standardise the administration of transporting military units on European territory. It is also referred to as the“Schengen of the armed forces”. Whether and how military units travel through Switzerland must still be authorised by the government on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, warring parties will still not be allowed to cross Swiss territory – the law of neutrality prohibits this.
• The Cyber Ranges Federation project enables the Swiss Army to train in cyber defence with other armed forces. It involves the development and testing of technologies and the training of personnel.

Switzerland's participation is not yet finalised, as it still has to be officially approved by the participating countries and the EU. However, the decision has already been criticised domestically. Switzerland's most popular party, the right-wing Swiss People's Party, supports isolationism and rejects all forms of rapprochement with the EU and NATO, arguing this would“destroy neutrality”.

With the exception of Malta, all EU member states take part in PESCO. Regular invitees are the US, Canada, Norway and more recently Ukraine, which is also interested in participating in the cyber project. For the political right, this is seen as a breach of neutrality .

But the defence ministry reports that Switzerland will not take part in exercises with“belligerent states”, underpinning this with an additional agreement. Any co-operation will be carried out“in line with Switzerland's obligations to the law of neutrality”.

The war in Ukraine is forcing Switzerland to explain its neutrality.

In 2017, a majority of EU member states founded PESCO, whose aim is to increase the capabilities of national armed forces and strengthen interoperability, i.e. the harmonisation of systems and organisations.

While the visionExternal link of a European army may have served as a long-term goal, in the immediate term, it was a matter of Europe partially emancipating itself from Trump, who was in office at the time and who cast considerable doubt on America's willingness to provide military assistance. The US reaction to the founding of PESCO was disgruntled because it feared NATO would lose importance and European countries would make fewer purchases for defence. During President Joe Biden's term of office, the relationship has normalised and the war in Ukraine has brought Europe and the US closer together again.

The latest decision has a limited impact. Switzerland is only participating in two of the more than 60 projects which are currently underway. PESCO will not replace NATO in the foreseeable future and the Atlantic alliance remains Switzerland's most important military partnership, which is a co-operation under the Partnership for Peace (PfP) framework.

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