Swiss voters reject tighter limits on neutrality

Swiss voters have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to tighten the country’s rules on neutrality, preserving the government’s ability to impose sanctions and cooperate with NATO. More than 70% voted against the measure, according to official results.

The referendum followed renewed debate over Switzerland’s longstanding non-alignment after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Switzerland largely adopted European Union sanctions against Moscow, drawing criticism from Russia and from advocates of stricter neutrality who said the government was taking sides.

The proposed rules would have stopped Switzerland from imposing sanctions on countries at war without approval from the United Nations Security Council. They also would have restricted cooperation with military and defence alliances, including NATO. Al Jazeera reported that the initiative sought to define Swiss neutrality as “perpetual and armed” and would have allowed such cooperation only if Switzerland was under attack or an attack was imminent.

The initiative was organised by Pro Switzerland, a group that campaigns for national sovereignty, according to Al Jazeera. It was backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, or SVP. Supporters argued that adopting EU sanctions against Russia and expanding security cooperation with NATO had weakened Switzerland’s traditional neutral role.

The Swiss government and nearly all major parties opposed the measure. Opponents said it would limit the country’s ability to respond to international crises. Moscow openly backed the initiative, the BBC reported.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis defended the government’s approach in a televised debate cited by the BBC. “Neutrality has always been applied with a degree of flexibility,” he said. Switzerland had no plans to lift its ban on selling arms to countries in conflict, including Ukraine, but “neutrality does not mean indifference,” Cassis said. The country would “not look away when we see violations of the very international rules that allow us to live in peace,” he added.

Lukas Golder, co-director of research institute Gfs.bern, told Swiss public broadcaster SRF that voters had not rejected neutrality itself. Rather, he said, the result showed support for sanctions against Russia. “People have a clear idea of what Switzerland’s neutrality is supposed to achieve,” he said.

The SVP accepted the defeat and said it had no current plans for further action, according to Al Jazeera.

Switzerland’s neutrality was internationally recognised in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna. The Hague Convention of 1907 later established legal rules that, as the BBC noted, bar Switzerland from supplying weapons to countries at war. Switzerland previously rejected a German request for ammunition for tanks being sent to Kyiv.

The country remains outside military alliances, but its current policy allows security cooperation with other states and participation in sanctions. The vote leaves those choices with the government rather than placing the proposed tighter restrictions in the constitution.