Cassis threatens to cut off aid funds

The Council of States sparked heated debate. He decided to increase the military budget by four billion francs while at the same time reducing development aid by two billion francs.

The SDC will therefore face a deduction of 470 million francs. These funds are currently used to alleviate difficulties in crisis areas or after natural disasters.

EDA had to withdraw from four to five areas. These countries include Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Sudan – where conflicts have been present for years.

In addition, support is also available from the United Nations Refugee Agency. The International Committee of the Red Cross could also suffer a 20% budget cut; Last year, it received about 220 million francs.

Huge savings are also planned for bilateral development cooperation: 1.2 billion francs. This means the withdrawal of about 6 to 8 countries out of a total of 34 priority countries.

Contributions to the five largest Swiss NGOs amounting to 90 million francs are also at risk. The same applies to two thematic axes such as water or health.

Further savings could be made to support the UNICEF Children’s Fund and the Global Fund for Disease Control.

Benjamin Meulemann, FDP’s Council of States, put forward the savings proposal and argues through prioritization: “Switzerland’s military capacity is more important in the current situation.”

He points to ever-increasing spending on development aid. With a reduction of $2 billion, Switzerland will fall from eighth to sixteenth place in international comparison.