Reconstruction of Ukraine at the expense of development aid: Cassis wants to realize savings for the poorest

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Federal councilor Ignazio Cassis (62) wants to break his promise. Switzerland will provide six billion francs for the reconstruction of war-torn Ukraine, the Tamedia newspapers report.

However, it is unclear where the government gets the financial resources from. The federal government expects a $1 billion deficit in the coming years.

In the spring, Foreign Minister Cassis emphasized that the reconstruction of Ukraine should not be at the expense of other international cooperation programs. But now he wants to cut aid to other countries, the newspapers said. Specifically, the red pencil should be applied to education or hunger programs.

The Federal Council is planning a debate on this on Friday. It is expected that 600 million will flow into Ukraine annually between 2025 and 2034. This amount roughly corresponds to what Switzerland must contribute based on its economic performance if the country wants to show solidarity in an international comparison.

Two federal council members want to make even more cuts

Now Cassis is apparently toying with the idea of ​​creating a fund for Ukraine through federal legislation. This must be filled with two billion from the general federal budget. The remaining four billion would come from the budget for development aid and emergency aid.

Minister of Economic Affairs Guy Parmelin (64) and Minister of Finance Karin Keller-Suter (59) apparently want to go even further. They demanded that 90 percent be at the expense of development aid, the Tamedia newspapers report. The Social Democrats in the Federal Council must defend themselves against this. Minister of Social Affairs Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) would instead consider a tax on financial market transactions.

“This is an absolute disaster”

If Cassis’s proposal were accepted, there would be significantly less money for countries in the Global South. 13 percent of the development aid budget would be lost. Under Parmelin and Keller-Sutter’s proposal, 500 million euros would be sent from Africa or Asia to Ukraine.

“This is an absolute catastrophe,” said Andreas Missbach in the Tamedia newspapers. He is general director of Alliance Sud, the competence center for international cooperation and development policy. The Federal Council’s decision would mean that important programs in, for example, sub-Saharan Africa cannot be extended. “People would be deprived of their development opportunities.” (rba)

Source:Blick