At the beginning, there was no question of opening the defense projects selected by the Brussels Commission under Permanent Structured Cooperation [CSP ou PESCO] to countries not belonging to the European Union [UE]. In any case, France was firmly opposed to it. However, some member states having contested this restriction, Paris had to accept a compromise proposed by Berlin in November 2020.
Thus, a third country can take part in a PESCO project, subject to meeting certain political, material and legal conditions.
“A country wishing to participate in a project must share the values on which the Union is founded, must not undermine the security and defense interests of the Union and its Member States and must have concluded an agreement to exchange classified information with the EU, among others,” explains the Council of the European Union.
The “military mobility” project [aussi appelé « Schengen militaire »]coordinated by the Netherlands, was one of the first to open up to third countries, namely the United States, Norway and Canada. As a reminder, it aims to simplify and standardize procedures for military transport within the European area, whether by rail, road, air or sea. This is a response to concerns expressed by NATO.
Currently, the “military mobility” project brings together twenty-eight countries, twenty-five of which are members of the EU, including France. And there could soon be thirty of them. Indeed, after inviting the United Kingdom to join in 2022, the Council of the EU decided to do the same with… Switzerland.
Not belonging to either the EU or NATO, Switzerland had expressed its wish to participate in the “military mobility” project in August 2024.
“The ‘Military Mobility’ project aims to facilitate military mobility on European territory through standardized administrative processes. Border crossing requests can thus be processed and approved within a few days. […] The simplification of processes will benefit Switzerland’s commitments abroad, particularly in the context of training or the military promotion of peace. Participation in the project does not entail any obligation or automatism. Switzerland will continue to evaluate requests on a case-by-case basis,” the Federal Council then explained. [gouvernement] suisse.
Via a press release issued on January 13, the Council of the EU therefore announced that it would authorize the Netherlands to “officially invite Switzerland to participate in this CSP project”, on the understanding that the latter “met the conditions general” to be admitted and that it would “provide substantial value”.
-Note that European military convoys are regularly authorized to cross Switzerland. This was the case in March 2024, when France strengthened the “Strategic Reserve Force” [SRF] of the European mission Althea, in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“This French rail convoy does not require authorization for the transit of the war material it is transporting, given that it is intended for international engagement [la mission EUFOR ALTHEA] in which Switzerland also participates,” explained the Swiss government at the time.
The fact remains that since the start of the war in Ukraine, Switzerland seems to be distancing itself more and more from its neutrality. This point had already been raised at the time of the announcement concerning the purchase of thirty-six F-35A fighter bombers from the United States, with some seeing this as a risk for the autonomy of the country’s security policy. . What the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports [DDPS] had refuted, using, more or less, the same arguments to justify the participation of the Confederation in the European air shield initiative [ESSI – European Sky Shield Initiative]launched by Germany within the framework of NATO.
Published last August, a report commissioned by the DDPS from a committee of experts reinforced this approach, given that it recommended even closer collaboration with NATO and the EU.
“If Russia attacked Germany, could Switzerland claim to be safe with the argument of neutrality and wait for the enemy to arrive at its gates to act? I don’t believe it,” François Pointet then justified. [vert’libéral]one of the members of this study commission, to the Swiss news site Watson.
Photo: Defense Group – Swiss army
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