Swiss voters face decisive referendum on easing arms-export rules

Swiss voters will decide on November 29 whether the country changes its rules for exporting war materiel. The ballot follows years of dispute over how far Switzerland can support European partners while maintaining its neutrality and restrictive humanitarian policy.

The conflict sharpened after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark asked Bern for permission to transfer Swiss-made materiel to Kyiv. The Swiss government refused, citing the country’s export rules and the re-export declarations signed by purchasing states.

The decision has consequences beyond the defence sector. Switzerland mainly exports ammunition and armoured vehicles, and its policy affects manufacturers, diplomatic relations and the credibility of its neutrality. The government and parliament support the amendment. The Swiss People’s Party and the Radical-Liberal Party backed it in parliament, alongside other centre-right lawmakers. Opponents gathered enough signatures to challenge the law directly at the ballot box.

The referendum asks voters to choose whether existing restrictions should remain in place or whether Bern should receive wider authority to approve exports to designated partners. The campaign will place Swiss security policy, industrial interests and humanitarian safeguards in the same political frame.

The current law prohibits exports to countries involved in armed conflict or responsible for serious and systematic human-rights violations. Parliament tightened those rules in 2021 through an indirect counter-proposal to the popular initiative titled “No arms exports to countries in civil war”. The stricter provisions took effect in 2022.

The law also requires buyers to sign a declaration barring re-export to a third country without prior approval from the Swiss government. Since the invasion of Ukraine, that condition has produced repeated friction with European governments that hold Swiss-made equipment and want to send it to Kyiv.

The rules are policy choices rather than a direct requirement of Swiss neutrality. Neutrality does not prohibit Switzerland from exporting arms. The Federal Act on War Materiel goes further than international neutrality law by imposing additional restrictions on destinations and transfers.

That distinction matters in the campaign. Supporters can argue that the existing framework leaves Switzerland unable to respond flexibly when close partners face a major security crisis. Opponents can point to the same framework as evidence of a deliberate national standard, one that keeps Swiss exports at a distance from active wars and serious rights abuses.

The proposed amendment would create a partner-state exception covering 25 countries. Exports to listed states would generally be authorised even when those states were involved in armed conflict, unless exceptional circumstances applied.

The list includes 19 European countries, plus the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Argentina. The reform also removes the mandatory declarations prohibiting re-export. The government could still demand such a declaration in individual cases, giving Bern a discretionary safeguard rather than a blanket requirement.

The change would directly address the situation that emerged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark are among the countries that sought permission to transfer Swiss materiel to Kyiv. Under the proposed system, their status as close partners with comparable export rules would carry greater weight.

The amendment does not establish an unrestricted export policy. It relies on a government assessment of which countries qualify as close partners and on the possibility of intervention in exceptional cases. The campaign will therefore focus heavily on how much discretion voters are prepared to give the federal authorities.