Swiss citizens rejected an initiative at a referendum on 27 September that would have enshrined stricter neutrality rules in the Constitution. According to preliminary results, 69% voted against it, while about 31% voted in favour.
That is what Bloomberg reports.
The initiative proposed adding a constitutional provision on Switzerland’s “permanent and armed” neutrality. It also sought to ban the country from joining military alliances and from imposing sanctions not approved by the UN.
The push to tighten neutrality emerged after Switzerland decided to join European Union sanctions against Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Its supporters argued that such a policy contradicts Swiss neutrality. Moscow also backed this position, urging Swiss voters to support the proposal.
The Swiss government, parliament and the main political parties — with the exception of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) — opposed the initiative.
In Bloomberg’s assessment, the referendum outcome is about preserving the government’s ability to apply the principle of neutrality flexibly and, in particular, to continue supporting sanctions against Russia — not about Switzerland abandoning neutrality.