Summary: Critics warn that the initiative restricts security policy cooperation and makes Switzerland a European "free rider". The constitutional codification could also hamper indirect defence cooperation. Supporters counter: the initiative prohibits alliances, not national defence.
Roger de Weck put it pointedly: "Switzerland was the free rider of free riders. Where Europeans must provide for their own security, they will not tolerate Swiss parasitism forever." [1]
The ETH study shows: 53% support NATO rapprochement, 32% membership [2].
Both countries abandoned their neutrality after the Russian attack and joined NATO. This shows: in the current security situation, non-alignment is increasingly perceived as a risk [3].
[1] NZZ (2022). Roger de Weck on neutrality. [Open Access]
[2] DDPS (2025). Security Study 2025. [Open Access]
[3] swissinfo.ch (2022). Neutral states and NATO. [Open Access]
[4] neutralitaet-ja.ch (2024). Argumentarium. Note: Position paper of the initiative committee
Last updated: March 2026