Defence Minister Ueli Maurer says that spending on the Swiss army provides peace and well-being for the Swiss population and is an investment for the future.

At an end-of-year event in the resort of Adelboden in the Bernese Alps on Tuesday, he told journalists that security was at the top of his priorities.

Maurer explained that the world was becoming less safe and people in Switzerland felt less secure.

He said Switzerland had mastered the financial crisis and placed itself well in the economic recovery. But this, he noted, had created some envy as well as political and economic pressure on Switzerland.

“We need to be in form for the future and that’s the reason why security must be continually optimised,” Maurer said in a statement.

He added that the army could play a deciding role in a crisis situation.

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