Swiss Senate backs army engagement in NATO exercises

Swiss Armed Forces should continue to participate in NATO exercises Keystone-SDA

According to the Senate, the Swiss army should still be able to take part in NATO exercises. On Wednesday, the small chamber rejected a motion for a ban on such exercises that was adopted by the House of Representatives in the summer.

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The vote came out with 29 members against the motion, twelve in favor. The Senate thus followed its Security Policy Committee, which had recommended the motion of its sister committee in the House of Representatives be rejected without a dissenting vote.

The rejection by the Senate means that the matter is off the table. The vote was preceded by a lively discussion about Switzerland’s cooperation with the defense alliance and its compatibility with Swiss neutrality. Individual representatives of the right-wing and centre-right parties spoke out in favor of accepting the motion.

+ A majority of Swiss want closer ties with NATO

In the summer session, the House of Representatives adopted the motion of its Security Policy Committee, which wanted to ban the army from NATO alliance training.

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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