The initiative would have narrowed the Swiss government’s freedom to decide how neutrality should be applied. It sought to limit sanctions against countries at war and restrict security co-operation with military alliances. Its defeat leaves the existing framework in place.
The vote was not a choice between neutrality and abandoning it. Switzerland’s neutrality has been recognised internationally since 1815 and is referred to in the constitution. The question was whether to add detailed rules governing what neutrality should prevent the government from doing.
Backed by the Swiss People’s Party and the campaign group Pro Switzerland, the initiative proposed defining neutrality as “perpetual and armed”. Its proposed constitutional provisions would have barred Switzerland from joining a military or defence alliance, or co-operating with one, except if the country had been attacked or an attack was being prepared. Switzerland would also have been prohibited from taking part in conflicts between third countries.
The proposal addressed economic sanctions directly. Switzerland would have been able to impose sanctions on a belligerent state only if the United Nations had authorised them. Measures to prevent sanctions evasion would still have been possible. The initiative also called on Switzerland to use its neutrality more actively in mediation.
The sanctions clause was the most immediate concern for the European Union. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Switzerland adopted a large part of the EU’s sanctions. Under the initiative, Bern could not have followed European measures against a country at war unless they had UN approval. Russia’s permanent seat on the Security Council gives it the power to veto such resolutions.
The rejection leaves Switzerland free to continue aligning with EU sanctions where its government considers that appropriate. It does not oblige Bern to adopt every measure introduced by Brussels or bind Switzerland to the EU’s foreign policy. Decisions will remain with the Swiss authorities under the existing legal framework.
Switzerland is outside the EU, but its financial sector, companies and trading relationships are closely connected to the bloc. Swiss action can support the reach of European sanctions, including restrictions on financial services and efforts to stop controlled goods reaching Russia through third countries. A constitutional requirement for UN authorisation would have sharply limited Bern’s ability to act when the Security Council was blocked.
The initiative would also have curtailed military co-operation. Switzerland is not a NATO member, but it works with the alliance in areas including training. The government argued that the proposed restrictions would apply during peacetime, when military co-operation and planning take place. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said before the vote that waiting until an attack was imminent would leave too little time to prepare.
Supporters said the existing approach had weakened Switzerland’s credibility as a neutral state. They pointed to sanctions against Russia and closer security links with Western countries as evidence that the government had moved away from traditional neutrality. They argued that firmer constitutional limits would protect Switzerland from being drawn into foreign conflicts and strengthen its role as a mediator.
The Federal Council and Parliament recommended a no vote. Their position was that the country could remain neutral without fixing a narrow definition in the constitution. The government’s stated policy is to preserve the established practice of neutrality while retaining room to respond to changes in the security environment.
The result settles the fate of the initiative, but not the broader argument over Swiss neutrality. The country remains neutral; the rejected measure would have set stricter limits on how that status could shape foreign and security policy. Bern retains the power to decide whether to adopt EU sanctions and how far to co-operate with foreign militaries.
EU Today outlined the initiative’s implications for sanctions and security co-operation in its report before the vote. Voters have now rejected the proposed restrictions by a wide margin, preserving the government’s existing discretion.
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