The European Union and Switzerland agreed Thursday to strengthen their cooperation on foreign policy, security and defence, at a time of soaring geopolitical tensions.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and her Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis signed a joint declaration stressing the strategic importance of the foreign policy and security cooperation between them and vowing closer ties.
Non-EU member Switzerland and the bloc, which earlier this week signed a package of agreements to deepen and harmonise ties in a host of areas including on he free movement of people, trade and transport, already engage in regular exchanges on foreign and security policy issues.
On Thursday they committed to – among other things – that their top diplomats would hold a “yearly political dialogue”.
And they signed a technical agreement that will allow Switzerland, a country renowned for its neutrality, to participate more easily in joint civilian or military missions “to keep the stability of Europe”, Cassis told a press conference in Zurich after the signing.
It was in Switzerland’s “own interest that we have this peaceful region”, he said, stressing that the agreement “creates no obligation. Switzerland will continue to decide case by case”.
The Swiss foreign minister said Thursday’s agreement was timely.
“The recent military escalation between the United States, Israel and Iran shows one thing very clearly: today, no regional conflict stays regional,” he said, pointing out that “tensions in the Middle East affect Europe directly, our security, our energy supply, our trade routes and our economic stability”.
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Swiss neutrality ‘no obstacle’
Kallas also stressed the importance of the relationship with Switzerland, pointing to Bern’s contributions during the wars in the Balkans, and later on cyber defence.
And Switzerland had served as an important venue for peace talks, and highlighted that the country had already aligned with the EU on its sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.
“I also see potential for us to do more together countering hybrid attacks,” she said, warning that “those who want to harm our democracies are not standing still”.
Switzerland’s “neutrality is no obstacle to closer cooperation”, she insisted.
Kallas hailed a Swiss parliament decision late last year to ease export restrictions on Swiss- made weaponry as “a step in the right direction”.
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As a neutral country, Switzerland has long barred the re-export of its weapons to countries involved in conflict, blocking EU countries from sending Swiss-made munitions purchased decades earlier to Ukraine.
But in December, parliament agreed to relax the rules, proposing a list of 25 countries, including the United States, Canada and 17 EU countries, who would benefit from exemptions.
Cassis was meanwhile asked how Switzerland’s cherished neutrality might impact its position regarding the Middle East war sparked by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Saturday.
He said if the conflict was prolonged, Switzerland would have to consider restricting weapons exports to the United States and allies, as it did during the 2003 war in Iraq.
