WEBVTT

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The 27 EU member states spent
approximately 418 billion euros on defense in 2025.

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That is 20% more than last year.

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On average, this amounted to 2.2% of gross domestic product.

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According to the NATO decision, spending is to
rise to 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2035.

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Mark Rutte, the current NATO Secretary General,
said in a speech in Berlin on December 11, 2025:

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"We must be prepared for a war on the scale of those
our grandparents and great-grandparents experienced."

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Is all of Europe preparing for war? — Yes and no!

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Historically, Switzerland, with its policy of
armed neutrality, was regarded as an

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indomitable Gaul—an independent and reliable player.

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Switzerland has a long tradition of peace mediation.

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In 1954, she hosted the Geneva Conference on the Indochina War.

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In 1962, she supported the negotiations between France
and Algeria, thereby contributing to the Évian Accords.

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More recently, she has also been involved, for example,
in the peace processes in Colombia and Mozambique, as well

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as acting as a mediating power between the U.S. and Iran.

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Former Swiss diplomat and State Secretary
Georges Martin recently said that there is hardly a

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continent on which Switzerland has not been active.

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"There was hardly a week that went by without reports on
Switzerland's activities regarding peace and peace negotiations."

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"That's just part of the Swiss DNA."

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However, according to Martin, by adopting
sanctions against Russia, Switzerland has

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abandoned its long-standing policy of neutrality.

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"These days, it feels like nothing is happening anymore.

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Switzerland had something like this genetic heritage.

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But when the war broke out in Ukraine, we saw our
socialist leaders leave, go to Bucha, and weep.

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Of course, that's awful!

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They were also exploited for propaganda purposes.

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Because when two countries are at war, there is
always propaganda directed against the other.

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"It's important to remember that before 2022,
even the Socialists said Ukraine was the most

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corrupt and undemocratic country in Europe."

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Georges Martin describes the Neutrality Initiative,
which will be put to a vote in Switzerland on September

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27, 2026, as a historic opportunity for Switzerland.

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"Why is this a historic opportunity?

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Because this is the first time for Switzerland—because the Swiss
people have the opportunity for the first time to truly express

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their views on neutrality and then enshrine it at the beginning
of our Constitution with binding articles that would

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compel our authorities to do exactly the opposite of what
they have been doing since the start of the war in Ukraine."

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According to Martin, if the neutrality initiative were
not approved, it would spell the end of Switzerland.

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To him, a Switzerland that was not neutral
would no longer be Switzerland and would no

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longer be perceived as such internationally.

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So please share this broadcast and join us
in advocating for a clear “Yes” vote on the

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Neutrality Initiative on September 27, 2026.

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So that peace, peace mediation, and diplomacy have a
chance in Europe and other crisis-stricken regions.