Switzerland fails to vote on arms re-export to Ukraine, but there are still chances for permission

The National Council, the lower house of the Swiss parliament, has voted against an amendment that would allow third countries to re-export Swiss-made weapons, including to Ukraine. Source: European Pravda; Swiss info Details: The National Council rejected the parliamentary initiative of its Security Policy Committee (SIK-N) by 98 votes to 75, with two lawmakers abstaining.

As such, the initiative is now off the agenda, as the relevant committee of the other house of parliament, the Council of Cantons, has already rejected the idea in the past. The National Council discussed a simple regulation that would allow the supply of weapons bought by third countries in Switzerland to Ukraine.

However, the discussion on the supply of weapons will continue even after the decision of the National Council. Several proposals on this topic are under consideration in the parliament.

The proposal that would allow for the indirect supply of military materials to Ukraine has the greatest chance of being approved, but it has many conditions. For example, weapons could be supplied only five years after their acquisition in Switzerland, but only by Western countries and upon request. In addition, the target country must not be at war unless it is defending itself, like Ukraine.

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The target country must also not seriously violate human rights or use weapons against the civilian population. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, several countries have appealed to Switzerland to allow the supply of Swiss weapons in their arsenal to Kyiv. Germany, for example, wanted to provide ammunition for Gepard anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine, as well as machine gun ammunition.

Denmark applied to Bern for permission to supply Piranha III armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine. However, Switzerland rejected both applications. This caused international criticism.

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