The alpine nation, which has been neutral since 1815, represents “substantial added value” to the bloc’s defense organization, Brussels has said
The Council of Europe has announced that it has approved the participation of Switzerland in the EU’s Military Mobility project.
Launched in 2017 as part of the bloc’s Permanent Structured Cooperation in Defense (PESCO) program, the initiative is designed to simplify the movement of military personnel and weapons throughout Western Europe.
The Netherlands, coordinator of PESCO, can now invite Switzerland to join, the council said in a statement on Monday. Berne will receive formal member status after completing an administrative agreement, the statement read.
The participation of Switzerland, which has been neutral since 1815, will “bring substantial added value,” the Council of Europe statement claimed.
Switzerland applied for PESCO in September last year and will become the fifth non-EU state – after Canada, Norway, the US, and UK – to join.
The initiative is often called “Military Schengen” in reference to the borderless travel zone which includes 29 European countries, mostly EU members.
Last week, the conservative Swiss People’s Party (SVP) demanded the resignation of Defense Minister Viola Amherd over what it said is the country’s gradual drift towards NATO. Switzerland’s “sovereignty is in danger and has already been partially abandoned,” the SVP argued.
Amherd, who has advocated closer ties with the US-led military bloc, became the first Swiss defense minister to attend NATO’s North Atlantic Council in 2023.
Last year, she called for restrictions to be lifted on the re-export of Swiss-made weapons to Ukraine during the fighting with Russia. However, the ban remains in place.
Swiss authorities have also supported EU sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict. Russia has reacted by saying it can no longer consider Switzerland neutral, and has placed it on the list of “unfriendly nations.”
