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Now it’s final: as Blick reported on Tuesday, the Federal Council is rejecting a major tank deal. 96 Leopard 1 AS main battle tanks currently stored in Italy are not allowed to be repaired in Germany and then re-exported to Ukraine. The Bundesrat rejected a similar request on Wednesday.
As with many similar applications in recent months, the Federal Council justified its decision with a reference to applicable law. In particular, a sale would be in violation of the War Materials Act and would entail an adjustment of the neutrality policy, he explains. With his decision, he “prioritised aspects of Switzerland’s policy of neutrality and its reliability as a state of law”.
The neutrality policy should be adjusted
In April, the Ruag armaments group submitted an application to the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) to trade the 96 used and non-operational Leopard 1 A5 main battle tanks. The tanks stored in Italy would be repaired in Germany and then transported to Ukraine.
The Bundesrat has come to the conclusion that the sale of the 96 tanks is not possible on the basis of the applicable legislation. In particular, such a move would be in violation of the War Materials Act and would entail an adjustment of the neutrality policy.
The decision joins a series of applications that were also rejected by countries that had requested indirect arms supplies from Swiss war supplies. For example, Germany wanted to supply Swiss ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tank to Ukraine.
The Federal Council has adhered strictly to legal requirements since the beginning of the war – denying this and several other requests. He always referred to the applicable War Material Act.
Parliament is still looking for options
According to the responsible parliamentary committees, re-export of war material should be possible under certain conditions. The Security Policy Committee of the National Council (SIK-N) is drafting a law. Many open questions remain to be clarified when the text is drafted, for example whether a solution is compatible with the neutrality law.
The so-called combined approach serves as a basis for further work. This stipulates that in individual cases the Bundesrat may exceptionally limit a non-re-export declaration to five years in the future.
Namely, if the country of destination does not seriously violate human rights, there is no risk that the war material will be used against the civilian population and if the country of destination is not involved in an internal or international armed conflict.
The Bundesrat could once again be given more leeway
The re-export of arms to a belligerent state would be possible if it exercises its right of self-defense under international law – and this has been established by a two-thirds majority of the UN General Assembly and a UN Security Council resolution.
The latter is unlikely due to the veto power of the permanent members. According to the proposal, the amendment would also apply retroactively.
With a new committee motion, the Security Policy Committee of the Council of States (SIK-S) also wants to reverse a tightening of the War Materials Act decided in 2021. For example, the Bundesrat should be able to deviate from the approval criteria for foreign transactions if there are exceptional circumstances and this is necessary to protect the country’s foreign or security policy interests. (dBA/SDA)
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
