The center-left wants almost 5 billion for aid to Ukraine

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The center left is stirring in the federal parliament: if Switzerland does not want other states to pass on war material to Ukraine, then it should not do at least half of it when it comes to humanitarian aid.

Central National Councilor Marianne Binder (64), SP National Councilor Fabian Molina (32) and GLP party leader Tiana Moser (43) call for extraordinary help from the Bundesrat with three identical claims. It must be an amount that matches comparable countries in terms of economic performance. The center-left comes to $4.8 billion or about 4.46 billion Swiss francs.

Stingy Switzerland

Switzerland would thus enter new spheres. In 2021, the federal government spent about 3.5 billion francs on all official development assistance. After a year of war in Ukraine, Federal President Alain Berset (50) and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (61) presented another aid package of 140 million for Ukraine and Moldova.

A ranking by the Institute for the World Economy in Kiel (D) shows that Swiss aid so far, totaling CHF 270 million, is stingy in international comparison. In Switzerland it used to be 0.03 percent. It spent less than any other European country – it was 33rd out of 40.

“Switzerland makes enough”

One of the reasons for the poor performance is that Switzerland does not provide the weapons most other countries have to pay for. It has improved somewhat with the latest aid package. But even if only non-military aid counts, Switzerland lands only in the middle. Neutral Austria, which also does not supply arms, is much more involved financially by comparison.

But Secretary of State Cassis wants nothing to do with that. With the new aid package, Switzerland is improving its position. In addition, it is unclear how the figures in the ranking were arrived at. “Switzerland is doing enough,” Cassis defended. He has no reason to “blush,” he told the media.

Neutral Austria does much more

However, Switzerland’s commitment is nowhere near enough for centre-left MPs. Switzerland, for example, should orient itself towards Austria. Our neighbors lead the list, providing humanitarian aid worth 0.16 percent of their gross domestic product. That’s about $2 billion.

Switzerland, for its part, achieved a GDP of about $771 billion last year, equivalent to the $4.8 billion in aid to Ukraine mentioned above. A nice amount. But rightly so for the centre-left. After all, the democratic values ​​that Switzerland stands for are defended in Ukraine. That is why aid to Ukraine is also in our own interest.

Five billion in five years

SP, Mitte and GLP are not the first to request significantly more Ukrainian aid from Switzerland. At the beginning of this month, Green Council member Mathias Zopfi (39) asked for an increase in a motion: five billion francs must flow to Kiev over the next five years – one billion per year.

The money will benefit civilian projects, from peacebuilding to infrastructure reconstruction. The billions should be treated as extraordinary expenses and not subject to the debt brake. However, with the new rise of the centre-left, the question is now much more widely rooted.

Source:Blick