this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2025
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Kind of weird to include Switzerland after the shit they pulled with preventing other countries from giving their ammo to Ukraine.
Agreed, but on the other hand, maybe this could push them to be better involved in the collective defense of Europe, not just for new arms but older ones as well. The more countries that contribute to Europe's collective defense, the better.
@misk
This law was introduced after a public vote, independent of the war in Ukraine. We were tired of our weapons ending up in the really shady corners of the world, including militant groups that may kill thousands of innocent and unarmed people.
Selling arms to anyone goes against our neutrality, at least what's left of it.
Even if we have an obvious aggressor attacking Ukraine, we can't start making exceptions, because how can we remain neutral if we start selling arms to one side only?
@misk You are absolutely right, and we are already seeing the fruits of our vote in our arms industry, which is in sharp decline, in stark contrast to pretty much everywhere else in the world.
Voting to sell arms to countries at war is basically equivalent to not exporting arms at all, because what country is stupid enough to buy from a country that cuts off supplies when it goes to war?
We will live with the consequences, but the people have decided, not some politicians.
I think they're just trying to keep the money in Europe while utilizing all available sources. Not sure the current demand could be dealt with without Switzerland.