“Almost total lack of understanding of Switzerland,” warns ex-EU chief negotiator

Switzerland has lost credibility because of its stance on arms re-exports, according to former EU chief negotiator Christian Leffler. European countries would think twice about ordering weapons from Switzerland in the future.

The Swiss military industry “is at risk of losing contracts,” the Swede said in an interview published Monday in “La Liberté”. Several states felt that Switzerland was not as reliable as they had thought, according to Leffler, and called for an end to the “political acrobatics”.

According to Leffler, Switzerland should quickly approve the sale, resale and transfer of arms and ammunition to Ukraine and better monitor the funds of oligarchs.

Switzerland is also expected to work on a “clear and ambitious” mandate to resume negotiations on a framework agreement with the EU quickly and without many preconditions. According to Leffler, the Swiss position on arms re-exports would have no direct impact on the European dossier. However, goodwill towards Switzerland has not increased either. In the EU there is “almost a complete misunderstanding” about Switzerland on this issue, he said.

Strong international pressure on Switzerland

Switzerland is under intense international pressure to allow the re-export of Swiss-made weapons. In particular, Spain, Germany and Denmark have demanded that Swiss-made war material be passed on to Kiev. The Federal Council has always rejected this, citing the Neutrality Act and the War Material Act.

Two initiatives calling for a relaxation of re-export regulations failed during the spring session of parliament. Several parliamentary initiatives on this subject are still pending.

In addition, Switzerland was recently asked to become more involved in seeking funds from Russian oligarchs. In a letter to Bern, several ambassadors from the G7 states demand that the government do more in this area. (sda)