Switzerland to expand EU defense ties with new cyber-defense role

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Switzerland has received the European Union’s approval to join a multinational military cybersecurity project, the EU’s Council announced this week.

The decision allows Switzerland to become part of the Estonian-led Cyber Ranges Federations project under the EU’s Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) framework, marking a notable advance in Swiss–EU military cooperation. This comes despite Bern’s famously longstanding policy of strict military neutrality.

Switzerland had applied to join the project in October of last year, shortly after submitting an application for another joint project focused on military mobility. Two formalities remain before becoming a full project member: Estonia must invite Switzerland to the cooperation, and Bern needs a so-called administrative arrangement with the EU governing formalities such a data exchange and other parameters.

The Swiss government welcomed this week’s EU decision, saying that the country “will take part in the European PESCO project.”

Switzerland has beefed up its own cyber defense capabilities in recent years with its Swiss Cyber Training Range and a Cyber-Defence Campus .

The EU’s Cyber Ranges Federations initiative seeks to centralize capacity, pool unique services and automate processes across member states, reducing manual workload during exercises and accelerating the development of advanced cybersecurity technologies.

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Italy and Luxembourg are already members of the project, in addition to Estonia.

Under PESCO’s third-state participation rules established in 2020, non-EU countries may join individual projects if they share EU values and pose no threat to member states’ security interests. The Council confirmed that Switzerland meets the required political, legal and substantive criteria and will bring “substantial added value and mutual benefit” to the federation, it said in a press release.

The Council retains oversight of third-state involvement and may adjust conditions should security considerations evolve, ensuring alignment with the EU’s collective defense objectives.

Swiss defense planners have balanced these new engagements with Bern’s policy of armed neutrality, with federal officials calling cooperation in PESCO initiatives “ad hoc collaboration on specific projects which are thematically in the interest of both parties and which do not create critical dependencies for neutrality.”

Participation in the cyber project enables Switzerland to contribute – and benefit from – expertise and infrastructure without entangling the country too deeply in broader EU defense commitments, from Bern’s point of view. The Swiss government said that “participation will take place selectively and on a needs-oriented basis.”

The latest project represents part of Switzerland’s broader strategic approach to selective participation in PESCO projects that align with its defense interests while maintaining neutrality.

It’s not Switzerland’s first brush with EU defense initiatives. In January, the government received the green light to join an EU-led military mobility project , which it applied for in September 2024. The Military Mobility project aims to simplify and standardize national cross-border military transport procedures, enabling swift movement of military personnel and assets throughout the EU via road, rail, sea, or air. Other non-EU countries, such as the UK, Northway, the USA and Canada are also part of this project.

In addition to deepening engagement with the EU, Switzerland has also been a member of NATO’s partnership for peace since the 1990s, as has its neutral eastern neighbor, Austria.

Hardline neutrality defenders have long taken issue with Swiss engagement on military projects beyond its own borders. Their criticism received new urgency in the aftermath of Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2022. Last year, a civil movement garnered more 130,000 certified signatures to organize a national referendum on strengthening Switzerland’s international neutrality. The referendum organizers specifically want to prevent what they see as a gradual erosion of Switzerland’s traditional neutrality through strengthened international defense cooperation.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

荷兰海牙——欧盟理事会本周宣布，瑞士已获得欧盟批准加入一项多国军事网络安全项目。

这项决定使瑞士得以加入由爱沙尼亚主导的欧盟永久结构性合作（PESCO）框架下的“网络靶场联盟”项目，标志着瑞士与欧盟军事合作取得显著进展。尽管伯尔尼长期以来奉行严格的军事中立政策，但这一决定仍然意义重大。

瑞士于去年10月申请加入该项目，此前不久，瑞士还提交了另一个专注于军事机动性的联合项目的申请。成为该项目正式成员还需完成两项手续：爱沙尼亚必须邀请瑞士加入合作，而伯尔尼则需要与欧盟达成一项所谓的行政安排，以规范数据交换和其他参数等手续。

瑞士政府对本周欧盟的决定表示欢迎，称该国“将参与欧洲永久结构性合作项目”。

近年来，瑞士通过建立瑞士网络训练靶场和网络防御中心，加强了自身的网络防御能力。

欧盟网络靶场联盟计划旨在集中能力、汇集独特服务并实现成员国间流程自动化，从而减少演习期间的人工工作量并加速先进网络安全技术的发展。

除了爱沙尼亚之外，奥地利、比利时、保加利亚、芬兰、法国、意大利和卢森堡也已经是该项目的成员。

根据2020年制定的欧盟永久性结构化合作（PESCO）第三国参与规则，非欧盟国家如果认同欧盟价值观且不构成对成员国安全利益的威胁，即可加入个别项目。欧盟理事会在一份新闻稿中确认，瑞士符合所有必要的政治、法律和实质性标准，并将为欧盟带来“实质性附加值和互惠互利”。

理事会保留对第三国参与的监督权，并可在安全考虑发生变化时调整条件，以确保与欧盟的集体防御目标保持一致。

瑞士国防规划者在努力平衡这些新的合作与伯尔尼的武装中立政策，联邦官员称在PESCO倡议中的合作是“针对特定项目的临时合作，这些项​​目在主题上符合双方的利益，并且不会对中立造成关键的依赖”。

从伯尔尼的角度来看，参与网络安全项目使瑞士能够贡献并从中受益于专业知识和基础设施，同时又不会使瑞士过度卷入欧盟更广泛的防务承诺中。瑞士政府表示，“参与将根据具体需求选择性地进行。”

最新项目体现了瑞士更广泛的战略方针，即有选择地参与符合其国防利益的永久性结构化合作项目，同时保持中立。

这并非瑞士首次参与欧盟防务倡议。今年1月，瑞士政府获准加入欧盟主导的军事机动化项目，该项目于2024年9月启动。军事机动化项目旨在简化和规范各国跨境军事运输程序，使军事人员和装备能够通过公路、铁路、海运或空运在欧盟境内快速调动。英国、北约、美国和加拿大等其他非欧盟国家也参与了该项目。

除了深化与欧盟的合作外，瑞士自 20 世纪 90 年代以来一直是北约和平伙伴关系的成员，其东部中立邻国奥地利也是如此。

强硬的中立主义捍卫者长期以来一直对瑞士参与境外军事项目持反对意见。2022年俄罗斯入侵乌克兰后，他们的批评变得更加迫切。去年，一项公民运动收集了超过13万个有效签名，旨在组织一场关于加强瑞士国际中立的全民公投。公投组织者特别希望阻止他们所认为的通过加强国际防务合作而逐渐削弱瑞士传统中立地位的现象。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。