Seco boss wants more staff

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The sanctions against Russia give the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) more work. Because: Seco is responsible for its implementation. Every time the EU announces a new sanctions package, the telephone lines in Switzerland also glow.

The responsible department was already strengthened internally in March 2022 and two months later the Federal Council approved five additional functions. Now Seco boss Helene Budliger Artieda (58) is asking for staff again, she said in an interview with the SRF program “Rundschau”.

“Switzerland must not become a bypass platform”

“Last year we were very busy, we had to answer 20,000 questions. In total, we had to rewrite a total of ten sanctions packages in Swiss law in a very short time,” says Budliger Artieda of the “Rundschau”.

Sadly, the Seco boss says the war is now entering its second year. In this phase it is very important that you really prevent evasion transactions. “We certainly don’t want to be the weakest link. We want to prevent Switzerland from becoming a platform for circumventing sanctions.” This is another reason why Budliger Artieda is hoping for additional positions.

In the interview, the head of Seco did not say exactly how many additional staff there would be. She also could not say exactly when the extra staff should be used. “This is an administrative procedure, but I hope we get a positive preliminary decision in June,” said Budliger Artieda.

Switzerland under international pressure

Switzerland is under international pressure to implement the sanctions. Time and time again, the accusation of other states is that too little is being done in Germany to enforce sanctions against Russia.

For example, Scott Miller (42), the US ambassador in Bern, attacked Seco head-on in an interview with the “NZZ”. “Seco mainly believes it is doing enough,” he said. But that’s not surprising in a country that historically has little operational experience with sanctions.

In the Sunday view, Budliger Artieda later defended himself, saying, “We believe we have done everything within our competence.” We would like to receive concrete information from other countries, if there are any. (Okay)

Source:Blick