‘Pressure will increase on Switzerland to invest more in defence’
Markus Mäder, Switzerland's state secretary for security policy, has a lot on his plate with the evolving security situation in Europe.
Eastern European countries are sealing off their borders with Russia: on Wednesday, Latvia decided to exit the international agreement to ban anti-personnel mines. This is because the Baltic country wants to be able to mine its border with Russia again should the security situation deteriorate further.
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Mäder is following such developments with concern. He heads the newly created State Secretariat for Security Policy at the Swiss defence ministry. Very often, when an issue gains importance at the federal level, a state secretariat is created. After some personnel turbulence, the then-defence minister Viola Amherd nominated the former brigadier general to lead the new secretariat.
At the beginning of March, the European Union decided to invest an additional 800 billion euros (CHF745 billion) in defence. Switzerland aims to spend 1% of its gross domestic product on the army by 2032. The state secretary predicts that Switzerland will come under pressure with this plan.
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“Europe is preoccupied with itself in these matters,” says Mäder. “But the pressure will increase on Switzerland to invest more in its defence”.
F-35 fighter jet is also important for Europe
And what does United States President Donald Trump mean for Swiss security policy? Should Switzerland no longer procure defence equipment in the US? The Social Democrats, for example, are calling on the Swiss government to annul its purchase of American F-35 fighter jets.
+ Poll: majority of Swiss oppose buying US F-35 fighter jets
Mäder does not think this is a good idea. Numerous European countries would buy the F-35, including Germany. “The F-35 will be the most widely used aircraft in Europe in a few years’ time,” he says. “As a platform for cooperation, the F-35 will offer the greatest potential for synergy and cooperation.”
More cooperation is needed
The state secretary believes that more cooperation is needed in order to strengthen defence, a sensitive political issue due to Switzerland’s neutrality. Mäder explains that he is less concerned with whether it is NATO or the European neighbourhood: “We have to prepare ourselves so that our policy has the option of working with partners to better defend ourselves in the event of an armed conflict.”
+ Switzerland steps up defence cooperation with NATO
How much cooperation is needed? Mäder wants to elaborate on this in a new security policy strategy by the summer, which will then be adopted by the Federal Council at the end of the year and discussed in parliament.
Translated from German with DeepL/gw
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