Senate committee not keen on CHF15 billion defense boost
A centre-left proposal for a CHF15 billion ($16.6 billion) package for the Swiss army and Ukraine is likely to have a difficult time getting through Switzerland’s Senate.
The Senate’s finance committee has opposed the idea of setting up a special fund this week, rejecting the motion by 11 votes to 2, as reported by parliamentary services on Wednesday.
The Senate’s security policy committee proposed the CHF15 billion package at the end of April, arguing that it could be financed via a special fund which would bypass Swiss “debt brake” rules.
+ Read more about the Swiss spending tug-of-war
The fund is intended to provide the Swiss army with an additional CHF10.1 billion of resources from 2025 to 2030, while CHF5 billion would be put towards reconstruction in Ukraine.
The finance committee said the additional expenditure would lead to CHF15 billion more debt, and that even such special expenditure would have to be offset via cuts to the ordinary budget.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kp,dos
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