mw. Those who want to strengthen Switzerland’s neutrality – not further weaken it! – are pleased with the recent statement by the National Council’s Security Policy Committee (SPC-N) to postpone its decision on amending the War Material Act (WMA) until October. This gives the commission time to reflect before the National Council debates the issue. To put this decision into context, here is a brief history.
Current regulation and headwinds
According to Article 18 of the War Material Act, a state wishing to purchase Swiss military equipment must request a permit from the Federal Council. This permit is only granted under certain conditions, in particular, it must sign a non-re-export declaration, meaning it is prohibited from transferring weapons to third countries.
Because of this regulation, some foreign governments and European arms companies have been putting massive pressure on Switzerland for years to allow re-exportations by “friendly” states (primarily NATO states) to Ukraine, but also generally. Otherwise, they would no longer purchase military equipment from Switzerland. Domestically, different forces are trying, for various reasons, to facilitate the transfer of Swiss military equipment to war zones.
Proposed amendments
Federal Council draft of 12 February 2025: The Federal Council has commendably opposed an expansion of Swiss arms exports for a long time. In February, it gave in somewhat to parliamentary demands and proposed a new Article 22b of the War Material Act. According to this, the Federal Council could grant a re-export license as an exception if “extraordinary circumstances exist” – a truly flexible clause!
Resolution of the Council of States of 11 June 2025: The Council of States has unfortunately not proven itself a “chambre de réflexion.” With a clear majority of 31 votes to 11 from the Social Democrats and the Greens, it wants, contrary to the Federal Council, to add Article 18, paragraph 1bis to the War Material Act, according to which a number of countries may in future “transfer the war material received to another country without Switzerland’s consent.” Have the parliamentarians who approved such an uncontrolled transfer of weapons ever looked at the list of 25 recipient countries? This list has remained unchanged since 1999 in Annex 2 of the War Material Ordinance: “Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, Hungary, USA.” Particularly surprising in this pool of NATO and EU countries and other close allies of the US is the inclusion of Argentina – how did it end up there? Furthermore, all states that joined NATO/EU after 1999 are missing. It’s an arbitrary list.
Resolution of the National Council’s Security Policy Committee (SPC-N) of 12 August 2025: The majority of the committee supports the derogation authority proposed by the Federal Council, but wants to limit the general exception for the aforementioned states desired by the Council of States. The SPC-N will continue its deliberations in the next quarter. According to a press release, the majority of the committee wants to use the revision of the WMA to facilitate the export of military equipment in order to promote “a strong and efficient Security-Relevant Technology and Industrial Base (STIB)” (Swiss arms industry), because “the Swiss army must be strengthened and its defense capability increased.” This connection is unconvincing, as the Swiss arms industry can also sell to other countries that are not currently at war. The minority of the commission, however, criticizes that “a relaxation of the War Material Act is only in the interest of the STIB and not of neutral Switzerland, which should work in particular for peace and the protection of human rights.”
It is to be hoped that the neutrality and peace-loving voices can prevail in the committee, and that the National Council will endorse this view, which corresponds to Switzerland’s understanding of the state, in the winter session. Perhaps the Council of States will then also revisit the matter? •
Sources:
“25.024 War Material Act (inclusion of a deviation authority for the Federal Council). Amendment.” Draft of the Council of States decision of June 11, 2025; https://www.parlament.ch/centers/eparl/curia/2025/20250024/S11%20D.pdf
Appendix 2 of the War Material Ordinance of 1999; https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1998/808_808_808/en#annex_2
“SPC-N: Consultation on the War Material Act (WMA) commenced.” Media release of 12 August 2025
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