Center President Gerhard Pfister calls for rapprochement with NATO after the US elections. Certain announcements by Donald Trump could have a negative influence on Switzerland’s security, he believes in an interview with the NZZ on Sunday. Gerhard Pfister says he is convinced that cooperation with the Atlantic Alliance is the right path in this situation, but “always with strict respect for neutrality”. Switzerland would not send soldiers anywhere.
“I do not want to join NATO,” said Gerhard Pfister. But consulting with the States of the alliance is for him the absolute minimum. Thus, Swiss F-35 fighter jets could in the future be integrated into European defense in the event of war, although “of course they will not be on the front.” Switzerland could take on air policing tasks in order to relieve Europeans.
Because if the former and future American president keeps his word, it will become dangerous for Europe: “If he wants to establish a rapid peace in Ukraine as he announced, it will be a peace along the lines of Russia,” estimated the president of the Center. Asked whether Switzerland would not be better off staying away, he replied: “We must then make it clear to NATO that we are willing and able to completely defend ourselves if necessary. With the current defense capability of the army, there are some big question marks for me.”
Dangerous situation for Europe
National councilor (UDC/GR) Magdalena Martullo-Blocher wants to move forward on the issue of free trade with the United States, Switzerland’s second largest trading partner after the European Union. “It goes without saying that we must resume negotiations immediately,” declared the boss of Ems-Chemie in the Sunday newspaper “I will commit to it personally.” According to her, the free trade agreement with the United States is the most important one that is still missing. During Trump’s first term, discussions took place between the two countries. But the coming to power of Joe Biden put an end to this exploration. The economic association Swissmem also calls on the Confederation to resume these discussions “as quickly as possible”. The United States is Switzerland’s most important trading partner after the EU.
Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin is more nuanced on the issue. “It might be useful to do a new analysis,” he said in an interview with Morning Sunday. “For us, the big challenge is agriculture. This is what caused the last talks to fail, he continues. The problem is simple: we cannot eat 20 kilos of beef per day to absorb American imports and Swiss production. Putting our agriculture under even more pressure, when our self-sufficiency rate is not even 50%, is not acceptable.”
