Swiss parliament votes against export of protective vests to Ukraine

According to the report, the MPs considered that these dual-purpose goods may be used for military purposes rather than for civilian ones

 The Swiss parliament’s Council of States (the upper chamber that represents the cantons) has voted against a proposal to allow the supply of protective vests to Ukraine, the Swiss SDA news agency reported.

According to its information, the MPs considered that these dual-purpose goods may be used for military purposes rather than for civilian ones. During the discussion, 24 MPs of the Council of States rejected the request made by The Green Party of Switzerland, 17 favoured it, and 2 abstained. Previously the request was narrowly approved by the deputies of the National Council (the ‘lower chamber’ that represents the people) of the Swiss parliament. It is noted that the deputies followed the majority opinion of their Security Policy Committees – in that case, protective vests are considered dual-use goods.

The deputy of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) Werner Salzmann noted that protective vests are rather used for equipping the military at the front. As Hans Wicki of the liberal party FDP stressed, protective vests could fall into the hands of belligerents even if used for civilian purposes. “Adhering to neutrality is worthwhile precisely in times of war,” he added.

In June, the Security Policy Commission of Switzerland’s National Council made a legislative proposal to lift the ban on the re-export of Swiss-made weapons to third countries involved in armed conflicts if there are certain conditions.

So far, the ban, which is enshrined in the law and conditioned by Switzerland’s neutral status, has been in force despite Germany, Denmark and Spain’s numerous requests to disregard it. The possible lifting of the ban will have to be considered by both houses of Switzerland’s parliament, the National Council and the Council of States. Given that the SVP, the largest party represented by two ministers in the four-party coalition government, is in favour of Switzerland’s strict adherence to neutrality, a national referendum on the issue is possible as well.