Switzerland: proposal to tighten neutrality rejected

The Swiss have flatly rejected the proposal to strengthen the Confederation's neutrality through a constitutional amendment. According to the final results of the referendum, published by the Swiss media, the No won with 70.2%, while the Yes stopped at 29.8%. The voters were 47.1%. On the same day, the referendum proposal on food sovereignty, which regulated the objective of a net self-sufficiency of at least 70% for the country, was also clearly rejected - with 72.5%.

The Swiss right called for a clear tightening of neutrality

The referendum on neutrality, promoted by the Democratic Union of the Center (UDC/SVP), the main party of the Swiss right, proposed a clear tightening of Switzerland's neutrality and would have put at risk the application of European and Western sanctions against Russia.

The issue of adhering to EU sanctions against Moscow

Rooted in Swiss history for centuries, the country's neutrality has been written into the federal Constitution since 1848; it entails that the Confederation abstains from taking sides in conflicts between third states. However, Switzerland's adoption of European Union sanctions against Moscow following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as its first term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (in 2023 and 2024), have placed the question of Swiss neutrality at the center of the debate. There were two views on the definition of Swiss neutrality: supporters of flexible neutrality defend the possibility for the Confederation to adapt its policy to circumstances. It is precisely this logic that led Switzerland to collaborate with NATO, even without being part of it. Neutrality "has always been managed with a certain margin of maneuver," Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis recently told Swiss public radio. “Neutrality does not mean that Switzerland looks the other way when there is a violation of international rules,” he further stated during the election campaign.