The Swiss will no doubt be forced to vote on their neutrality, after the war in Ukraine reopened discussion in the Alpine country about the degree of its cooperation with NATO and the resumption of European sanctions.
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The sovereign organization Pro Suisse has collected more than 100,000 signatures needed to launch a referendum aimed at better enshrining Swiss neutrality in the constitution, one of its leaders, Walter Wobmann, announced on Wednesday in an interview with the newspaper Blick.
He said: “We collected nearly 140,000 signatures (…). On April 11, we will present the initiative to the Federal Chancellery. Until then, we will continue collecting signatures, he explained.
Swiss neutrality, which has been misunderstood abroad, has sparked many debates since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, with each political party interpreting it as it pleases.
Switzerland – which is not part of the European Union – was inflexible regarding its military neutrality, but on the other hand it adopted the sanctions imposed by Brussels on Russia, a decision that was strongly condemned by the main Swiss party, the Christian Democratic Union, a far-right party. Wing set.
Moscow also criticized Switzerland's adoption of European sanctions, and has rejected this since the United Nations talks on Syria were held in Geneva (Switzerland).
He added: “By adopting the European Union sanctions against Russia, we have crossed our path. “In the eyes of the Russians, we are no longer neutral,” Mr. Wopmann, a former Christian Democratic Union MP, emphasized in the interview.
The Swiss Federal Constitution stipulates that the government and parliament ensure that “neutrality is maintained,” but Pro Swiss wants to go further.
The referendum he proposes – which in Switzerland has been called a “popular initiative” – demands that the constitution guarantee that neutrality be “armed and permanent” and applied “permanently and without exception.”
Non-military coercive measures, i.e. sanctions, will also be prohibited except when decided by the United Nations.
Pro Swiss, which also opposes any rapprochement with NATO, wants the constitution to prevent Switzerland from joining a military or defense alliance, unless there is a direct military attack against the country.
“Only when we are under direct attack can we ally ourselves with others. If we turn into a war party, we must defend ourselves,” Mr. Wobman noted.
Once signatures are submitted and then verified by the Chancellery, it generally takes several months, or even a few years, before a vote takes place.
