Ukraine and Swiss army risk never seeing its billions

Will Parliament vote for a special fund for Ukraine that could circumvent the debt brake? This is what the left wants. This has a chance of succeeding if the Center rallies behind it. But opinions are divided.

Francesco Benini / ch media

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to have an impact on Swiss politics. First of all on defense policy: if Parliament quickly agreed to increase army spending, it is more complicated in practice. Within the Security Policy Committee of the Council of States, members of the Center, the PS, the Greens and the Vert’liberals agreed on the creation of a special fund: the Swiss army should receive 10.1 billion additional francs by 2030.

This also concerns direct aid to Ukraine, which should receive 5 billion for its reconstruction. This additional sum is to be added to already existing development aid for other countries. The total of these expenses, or 15.1 billion, should be counted as “extraordinary” and would escape the effects of the debt brake.

For their part, right-wing parliamentarians also want the army to receive more resources more quickly than what the Federal Council provides in its “2035 development plan”. But they prefer to finance it via a temporary increase in VAT.

Do not circumvent the debt brake

And this creates barriers on the left. The co-president of the PS, Cédric Wermuth, categorically rejects such proposals. He prefers to draw on the special fund for Ukraine. In the middle of it allthe Center is shared.

State Councilor Peter Hegglin (Center/ZG) also rejects this proposal. Just like his Valais colleague Beat Rieder:

He explains: “This brake has made it possible to maintain the balance of the federal budget for years. I verify the constitutionality and legality of each proposal.”

The problem raised by Beat Rieder deserves attention: is circumvention of the debt brake compliant with the law? According to the Federal Finance Administration, two conditions must be met: it must be an extraordinary event and the development of which the Confederation cannot have any influence on.

And if the Federal Council considers the war in Ukraine to be an extraordinary event, it classifies the management of the Swiss army and the reconstruction of Ukraine in the category of “manageable developments”.

Pandora’s box

Another point is controversial: extraordinary expenses like those of the fund are not donations. It is expected that they will be returned to the federal budget at a later date. And the committee’s motion does not provide for counter-financing. This point also arouses criticism in the National Council.

The voice of Markus Ritter, president of the Farmers’ Union, carries a certain weight in the Center. If he dared to raise his voice publicly, other members of the party in Parliament, who do not wish to be quoted on the issue, also confirm that they are opposed to opening the financial Pandora’s box in favor of Ukraine and at the expense of the debt brake.

Gerhard Pfister in a delicate position

And even the party president, Gerhard Pfister, prefers not to get involved on the issue. He jumps in and refers our questions to the members of the Security Policy Committee.

It must be said that the Zougois is annoyed. The man has repeatedly criticized the principle of the debt brake, which he finds too rigid. But the elected official is not in favor of the idea of ​​creating a special fund alongside the left.

Persuasion work within the Center

At the Center, it was rather the state councilors Andrea Gmür-Schönenberger (LU) and Marianne Binder-Keller (AG) who led the way. Contacted, the latter specifies, however, that the parliamentarians have not yet really consulted on the question. A group meeting on the subject must take place at the end of May, at the start of the next session.

Between now and then, however, it seems that the fund’s supporters are advancing their pawns among their centrist comrades and trying to persuade them to rally around their position. Among the arguments given, the urgency of the situation: Ukraine needs help to repair its infrastructure, such as destroyed power plants. And the threat posed by Putin.