The security of Europe is being fought over in Ukrainian trenches. Any country on the continent declaring itself neutral about the outcome is announcing that its own safety is of scant concern
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskWhether Switzerland—Europe’s 20th-most-populous country, with just 9m people—is pitching in to a conflict may scarcely be noticeable to either belligerent. Yet the question has gained unexpected importance in recent weeks. The Bern government’s attachment to neutrality includes not sending arms made in Switzerland to war zones, nor allowing countries that had previously bought Swiss arms to re-export them without prior approval.
As war broke out on the continent, Sweden and Finland took the opportunity to join their non-neutral friends. Both applied to joinin May after public opinion swung against military standoffishness. The alliance wants them, but all 30 existing members need to ratify their accession. Turkey’s autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is holding Sweden to ransom, demanding it extradite Kurdish militants who have sought asylum there.
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