Closer defence ties would not run counter to the law on neutrality, the parliamentarians said.
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The Senate on Tuesday approved for the second time a motion from the House of Representatives that calls on the Swiss government to open negotiations with Brussels on a security and defence agreement. NATO was ultimately excluded from this demand.
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The European security landscape has changed profoundly since the United States government began gradually withdrawing from the European security architecture, parliamentarians in both chambers argued. They concluded that Switzerland must play its part in the rebuilding of this architecture.
By engaging in defence and security partnerships, Switzerland could undertake joint arms purchases with the European Union and adopt a security policy more focused on the European continent. Such closer ties would not run counter to the law on neutrality, the parliamentarians said.
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The senators had, however, pointed out that the EU was not in itself a defence concept. Considering that NATO represented the most effective alliance in this field, they had included it in the motion.
The House of Representatives, however, had stood by its original text, which excludes NATO. On Tuesday, the Senate relented, by 21 votes to 20.
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