The clash between these values, combined with concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin poses a risk to all of Europe, is prompting the country to reconsider its defensive stance. After 500 years of neutrality, a bombastic report recommends closer cooperation between Switzerland, the EU, and NATO.

In the report published on Thursday, a group of experts recommends that the government of the country, which has been neutral since 1515, work on a “joint defense capability” with the EU and NATO, according to Politico. “Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, neutrality has once again become a subject of political debate, both domestically and abroad.

Pressure on Switzerland to clarify its stance is growing,” the report states, calling for a “review” of its neutrality policy. The potential political shift is another sign of how Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is changing Europe’s security landscape.

The unprovoked attack prompted Sweden and Finland to abandon their neutrality and join NATO. The experts who prepared the report, including diplomats, senior officials, a former head of the Swiss army, and Wolfgang Ischinger, a former director of the Munich Security Conference, delivered their findings to Swiss Defense and Security Minister Viola Amherd, who is also the President of the Confederation for 2024.

Enabling Arms Exports

Swiss arms exports fell by 27% last year to less than 700 million Swiss francs ($746 million) compared to 2022, due to both strict arms export regulations and the one-time effect of Qatar halting its purchase of air defense systems linked to its hosting of the 2022 World Cup.

Bern prohibits the sale of arms to countries at war, which has impacted relations with other countries wanting to send weapons to Ukraine that could include Swiss components. “The re-export ban must be lifted,” the report calls for.

Switzerland has blocked the delivery of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine from several European countries. It took months of pressure for Switzerland to agree to send surplus Leopard tanks to Germany to replace those sent to Ukraine.

Refusal to allow the sending of Swiss-made ammunition from German stocks to Ukraine helped German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall increase ammunition production in Germany. The experts also want to strengthen Switzerland’s arms industry by boosting industrial cooperation and gaining access to EU and NATO arms programs.

‘Explosive’ Proposals

The report was controversial even before its release, as opposition parties accused Amherd of appointing mainly NATO and EU enthusiasts to the expert committee. It is likely to face resistance in the Swiss parliament, especially from pacifist left-wing parties and the nationalist far-right.

Amherd is already under criticism for the country’s increasingly close ties with NATO. “The report clearly shows that Switzerland is a Western country and therefore supports Western values,” said Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global and emerging risks at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

However, “calls for increased military cooperation with NATO and the EU are likely to spark much debate in Switzerland,” he added, agreeing with assessments that the report is potentially “explosive” domestically.

The experts stop short of suggesting that Switzerland completely abandon neutrality and join NATO, but they call for deeper ties with the military alliance and the EU in joint training, missile defense, and bilateral and multilateral exercises.

The report also calls for military spending to reach one percent of GDP by 2030. Switzerland currently spends 0.76 percent of GDP on defense, far less than any NATO member except Iceland, which has no military. Although it is unlikely that Switzerland will be attacked, the country is already a target of hybrid warfare, including disinformation, espionage, and cyberattacks, the report says.

Embracing NATO and the EU

In recent months, the Swiss Federal Council, which governs the country, has signaled its willingness to embrace NATO and the EU on security and defense matters.

On Wednesday, a Swiss delegation traveled to Luxembourg for a meeting with NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). One of the meeting’s objectives was to assess potential synergies and opportunities for cooperation with the agency.

Earlier this month, the Federal Council also approved participation in two EU Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects—one on military mobility aimed at facilitating border crossing, and another on cyber defense.

According to Rickli, Switzerland wants to prove that it is playing its part in case the neutral country needs military assistance from EU or NATO countries. “There is an element of Switzerland’s reputation, potentially being seen as a free rider not cooperating with European states,” he said. “If it wants to benefit from the help of its European partners, it must offer something in return.”