From the Federal Council’s point of view, it is a call to break the law. A few weeks ago, Germany sent a letter to Switzerland requesting the green light for the delivery of locally produced tank munitions to Ukraine. But Economy Minister Guy Parmelin (62) sticks to it: the neutrality law forbids him to authorize transfers to a state at war.
The attitude of the Federal Council is also controversial in our country. Politicians and lawyers disagree about whether it is really impossible to pass on ammunition. However, all the domestic political discussions leave a few questions unanswered: why doesn’t Germany just deliver, when it is so important to our northern neighbor that Ukraine receives the 12,400 cartridges? And what would be Switzerland’s reaction?
«Precautions» possible
The State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) cannot or will not answer this question. So far this has not happened, so an answer would be “speculative,” a spokesperson said. He only refers to the War Material Ordinance. It states that Seco can take “precautions” if there is evidence of a violation of a non-re-export declaration.
What such precautions might be upon delivery of the ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tank is not specified. One possibility would be that Switzerland would stop supplying ammunition and weapons to Germany for a certain period of time as a sanction. The federal government took this measure in the case of Ghana in 2017 after the African state sought to export Swiss rifles and grenade launchers to the US without Switzerland’s permission. However, the law does not provide for fines.
Germany has little to fear
However, it is highly unlikely that Switzerland would impose economic sanctions in this case. People familiar with the case assume that a violation by Germany of the agreement with Switzerland will at best cause diplomatic annoyance. Switzerland would probably summon the ambassador and send a protest note to Germany if necessary. That is it.
In view of this, the question arises why Germany does not simply act on its own authority and break the treaty with Switzerland. Hardly any western country outside of Switzerland will criticize the German government for this in this specific case. Let alone draw your own conclusions.
Does Germany not want a solution at all?
In Bern, it has long been suspected that the feud with Switzerland over cheetah ammunition is primarily a diversionary tactic by Germany to divert attention from the domestic German controversy over the size and speed of arms deliveries. Not only FDP leader Thierry Burkart (47) expresses this distrust. The federal administration is also convinced of this, as it turns out behind closed doors.
Doubts about the seriousness of the German concern were fueled by the fact that German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (57) wrongly sent the letter to the Ministry of Defense instead of the Ministry of Economy with a renewed request for export approval. An error that already shows that the case in Berlin is not a priority.
One thing is certain: the 12,400 cartridges will not decide the war in Ukraine. In less than twelve minutes, the cartridges would be empty in continuous fire. This is probably one of the reasons why Ukraine has reacted very cautiously to the export block so far. According to the Swiss ambassador in Kiev, Claude Wild, the decision is received with incomprehension among the Ukrainian population. So far, however, government officials have shown understanding for Switzerland’s neutral stance.