National Council committee wants looser war material export rules

The responsible National Council committee is in favor of the looser export rules for Swiss war material requested by the Federal Council. (theme picture)

Bild: Keystone

Swiss armaments companies should have to follow less strict rules when exporting war material in future. This is the opinion of the majority of the responsible National Council committee.

Keystone-SDA

12.08.2025, 17:47•12.08.2025, 18:31

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The Federal Council has requested a derogation for exports of war material.
This should make foreign arms deals easier.
The National Council's Security Policy Committee (SIK-N) supports this.

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The Federal Council had requested a derogation competence for exports of war material. It wants the authority to deviate from the approval criteria for foreign arms deals in exceptional circumstances and to safeguard Switzerland's interests.

The National Council's Security Policy Committee (SIK-N) supports this by 16 votes to 8, as reported by the Parliamentary Services on Tuesday. However, it wants to limit the general exception decided by the Council of States for countries with a similar export regime to Switzerland.

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In June, the Council of States also decided on new rules for the re-export of war material. Discussions on this were triggered by requests from EU countries that wanted to resell Swiss armaments in connection with the Russian attack on Ukraine. Discussions on these regulations are still ongoing in the SIK-N.