Switzerland’s largest party has denounced the country’s Federal Councilor for Defense and President Viola Amherd for violating Swiss neutrality by participating in the European Union’s Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), a military program that is for full members of the EU, which does not include Switzerland. In a statement posted on its website on August 21, the Swiss People’s Party (Schweizerische Volkspartei, SVP) declared that the SVP “firmly rejects Switzerland’s participation in the EU military pact PESCO. The Federal Council is thereby carelessly giving up our country’s neutrality and sovereignty. By participating in the EU military pact, the Federal Council is also negligently putting the security of the Swiss population at risk. The SVP demands that the Federal Council submit this matter to Parliament.”
The Swiss People’s Party charged that Amherd and the Federal Council are “gradually giving up Swiss neutrality and our country’s sovereignty. The SVP firmly rejects this creeping rapprochement with both the EU and NATO.”
