Switzerland prided itself on being neutral. Then, their stupid government decided to bend the knee to the EU.
Switzerland has already allocated 1.3 billion francs to support Ukraine, including 270 million francs to help people in the country and 1.03 billion francs to support Ukrainians who have fled to Switzerland. Around 75,000 Ukrainians have been granted refuge in Switzerland since the conflict began on Feb. 24 last year.
Seems like a humanitarian thing to do at first glance. What else does one do when refugees walk over one's border? (Ahem. Southern Border USA) However, the Swiss are sending money to Ukraine. So not so neutral suddenly. On the one hand, they are helping those who flee the country, and on the other they are supporting the government who is party to the conflict. I suppose one can argue neutrality in such a situation because one is helping both victims and perpetrators.
a group of about 100 Russians and businesses held nearly $50 billion in Swiss deposits, the government said in its most detailed disclosure yet of Russian wealth stashed in the country's banks.
Erm. Last time they did that was when Obama demanded to know which Americans had money in swiss accounts. The swiss banks lost the trust from many foreign investors for that disclosure, and it led to them banning Americans from holding swiss accounts. So they lost business. Now they stand to lose Russian accounts. duh.
Whether one thinks it is good or bad to trade with Russia, deleting all those imports would deleteriously affect the average citizen. So, methinks that neutrality will keep them coming in. But as can be seen, the whole neutrality thing is going off the reservation. Beyond the Pale as some Irish will say.
Switzerland prided itself on being neutral. Then, their stupid government decided to bend the knee to the EU.
Seems like a humanitarian thing to do at first glance. What else does one do when refugees walk over one's border? (Ahem. Southern Border USA) However, the Swiss are sending money to Ukraine. So not so neutral suddenly. On the one hand, they are helping those who flee the country, and on the other they are supporting the government who is party to the conflict. I suppose one can argue neutrality in such a situation because one is helping both victims and perpetrators.
So yeah - not so neutral anymore.
https://www.politico.eu/article/switzerland-rethinks-neutrality-considers-weapon-export-amid-ukraine-russia-war-crisis/
The Swiss also reported that
Erm. Last time they did that was when Obama demanded to know which Americans had money in swiss accounts. The swiss banks lost the trust from many foreign investors for that disclosure, and it led to them banning Americans from holding swiss accounts. So they lost business. Now they stand to lose Russian accounts. duh.
There is a debate going in what to do about the fact that 40% of gas imports come from Russia. For a complete list of Russian imports check this out: https://tradingeconomics.com/switzerland/imports/russia
Whether one thinks it is good or bad to trade with Russia, deleting all those imports would deleteriously affect the average citizen. So, methinks that neutrality will keep them coming in. But as can be seen, the whole neutrality thing is going off the reservation. Beyond the Pale as some Irish will say.