The Council of Cantons (upper house of parliament) of Switzerland rejected an amendment to the law that would simplify the re-export of Swiss weapons, swissinfo reported on March 7.
23 deputies voted for the rejection of the amendment, 18 were against, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Swiss law does not allow the export of ammunition or military equipment to countries in a state of armed conflict. Re-export of Swiss weapons and ammunition from third countries is possible only with the consent of the confederation government in Bern.
The Swiss Council of Cantons discussed on Tuesday an amendment that would exempt countries with arms export control regimes similar to Switzerland's from obtaining such consent. Amendments to the “Federal Law on the Fundamentals and Conditions of Military-Technical Cooperation with Foreign States” were introduced by Thierry Burkart, Chairman of the Swiss Liberal Party.
Opponents of the amendment accused Burkart of lobbying gun manufacturers. In response, the politician admitted that his amendments were aimed at preserving the position of the Swiss defense company MIC. According to him, many countries no longer want to buy Swiss weapons and ammunition, since they have to go to Bern every time they want to resell them to other countries.
“These countries understand Switzerland's neutrality, but they do not understand why Switzerland is blocking the re-export of ammunition and armored vehicles,” Burkart told SRF television.
As swissinfo notes, in recent months, Swiss authorities have rejected applications from Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and the Czech Republic, which wanted to re-export ammunition previously purchased from Swiss companies, including supplying them to Ukraine.
Как reported “PolitNavigator”, ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavel Klimkin said that due to the policy of Switzerland, Ukraine cannot receive the ammunition desperately needed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.