Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) It’s not enough to only talk about the shift of geopolitical paradigms on a global scale since Putin-Russia has waged a full-scaled war against Ukraine. At the same time, Putin’s regime has engaged in hybrid warfare against the entire free world. The aim of this regime as well as of other rivals remains the weakening of the political West. Since unity in diversity is the most important strength of the political West, attempts to weaken us were always aimed at our unity and were meant to divide us. To cause disunity among states, institutions and civil society is what they want to achieve.
The rivalries in the new geopolitics must not be understood as ordinary conflicts on short-term interests. They are based on substantially different views on fundamental values like human dignity, individual freedom, liberal democracy, and the rule of law. For the political West to prevail here means to preserve the kind of civilization we had inherited for future generations, as well as to pave the way for people all around the globe so that one day they too can live under more human conditions.
This understanding also defines my view on the EU-Switzerland relations: True leadership in the European Commission as well as in the Bundesrat of Switzerland would require a courageous mutual outreach to create an entire new atmosphere of cooperation. According to my observation, the main precondition for that will be much more transparency – meaning not only in official figures, but also in everyday life. One example: In my home country, Austria, employees and companies have suffered neither wage nor price dumping, even though it has been a member of the EU for almost 30 years.. And the European Court of Justice is certainly not known for any kind of partisan attitude, but for trustworthy conduct under the rule of law. On the other side, many in the EU-institutions still do not have a clear insight into the major efforts and achievements of Switzerland in the field of diplomacy, peace building, peace keeping and many other fields, such as research and innovation.
One of the mistakes in the past might have been that time and time again, one and the same concerns led to dead ends – obviously due to a lack of knowledge and transparency. Secondly, it has never been sufficiently clarified which additional fields of cooperation between Switzerland and the EU would be promising. From my point of view, there are opportunities in the field of security and defense that have not yet been sufficiently utilized. I had put this on the agenda already a year before Putin-Russia has waged war. I highly appreciate Switzerland reflecting on participating in the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) of armed forces. The United Kingdom already joined. Putin’s war might not have been the reason for this endeavor, but it definitely demonstrates the urgency. Other possible areas of cooperation will also be discussed in the negotiations on the report on Switzerland of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, which are about to start.
At least as important as formal results will be more mutual confidence, which will have to be based on more transparency. This is what it is worth working for.
