Breakfast Show 6:30am - 10:00am

Listen Live

Search

Parliament okays German tank sale

Thursday, 28 September 2023 06:30

Leopard 2 tank (c) Bundeswehr-Fotos

Switzerland can sell 25 tanks to Germany after parliament finally gave the green light, but to maintain neutrality, they won’t be sent to Ukraine.

They’ll be sold back to the original manufacturer, Rheinmetall, and decommissioned. 

While the German ambassador, Michael Flügger, welcomed the decision – he is still critical of the re-export ban on Swiss weapons. Germany still has plenty of munitions which it would like to send to Ukraine, but can’t as they were bought from this country.

He says unless the law is changed, it will be difficult to continue to buy weapons from Switzerland. 

Share

More from Bitesize News

  • Geneva could foot the G7 bill

    Geneva fears it will be left with the security bill from a G7 summit just across the border in Évian, according to 24 heures.

  • US NGO discovers Swiss child abuse cases

    Switzerland relies too heavily on an American NGO to detect child sexual abuse online, raising questions about the country's ability to protect children on its own.

  • French singer banned by Paleo

    The Paléo Festival in Nyon says it will no longer invite French singer Patrick Bruel, after a former volunteer accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

  • Cars going uninspected

    The cantons are struggling to keep up with mandatory vehicle inspections, leaving more than 550,000 checks overdue nationwide.

  • War may lead to rent rises

    Rents may rise again, says the bank Raiffeisen.

  • Not a heatwave, yet

    Summer has arrived, with temperatures climbing past 30 over the long weekend. Basel reached 31 and Sion hit 32.4, but MeteoSwiss, says this does not yet count as an official heatwave.

Follow WRS

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play