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New snag for Swiss deal on Swedish jet fighters

Switzerland's purchase of 22 Swedish fighter jets hit a new snag Tuesday as the Swiss parliament suspended funding discussions, amid reports that EADS was trying to undercut the deal by offering used fighters at half-price.

Published: 10 April 2013 07:12 CEST

New snag for Swiss deal on Swedish jet fighters

The security policy commission of the lower house of the Swiss parliament overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to suspend discussions about how to raise the 3.1 billion Swiss francs ($3.3 billion) needed to buy the JAS-39 Gripen combat jets.

With 20 votes in favour and three opposed, the commission voted to suspend the discussions until its next session at the end of August to give it time to seek clarification from the defence ministry on elements of the contract, commission president Chantal Gallade told the ATS news agency.

The news came amid unconfirmed Swiss reports that the EADS consortium has offered to sell 22 used Eurofighters to Switzerland for just 1.5 billion Swiss francs.

Switzerland announced last August that it had agreed to the highly controversial deal to replace its ageing Northrop F-5E/F Tiger fighters, with deliveries set to start in 2018.

The Swiss Gripen purchase, which is part of a larger order for the planes to be shared with Sweden in a bid to cut production costs, is controversial in Switzerland because it will require spending cuts in other areas.

There are also concerns about what kind of guarantees the Swedish government can offer, since defence firm Saab is still developing the new Gripen jet series, and what kind of penalties will be imposed if either side fails to live up to their side of the deal.

The deal must receive a green light from the entire Swiss parliament and could possibly still be derailed by a popular referendum.

It already hit a bump in the runway last month when the upper house of the Swiss parliament approved the purchase but refused to release the funds needed.

And if the reports that EADS is trying to undercut the Gripen deal are correct, Swiss President and Defence Minister Ueli Maurer could see his main argument for pushing ahead with the Swedes — that their bid is the cheapest — fall apart.

AFP/The Local/dl

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Three scenarios: How Switzerland plans to fight a Covid resurgence

Authorities want to prevent overcrowded hospitals if new wave comes. Photo by Fabrice Coffrini / AFP

Although Switzerland relaxed a number of coronavirus rules from June 26th and 28th, “the pandemic is not over”, as Health Minister Alain Berset said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Berset said Switzerland should not become complacent, with last summer a warning against feeling that the battle is won.

He added, however, that the new wave is unlikely to be as large as the previous ones due to the country’s vaccination campaign.

This situation leaves a degree of uncertainty for which the government wants to be prepared as well as possible, Berset noted.

The Federal Council established a “just-in-case” procedure on Wednesday for three possible scenarios that could take place in the autumn and winter.

These plans focus mainly on the rapid detection of variants and the continuation of vaccination, testing, and tracing.

The best-case scenario: status quo

In this scenario, the number of cases remains at a low level, though small outbreaks are still possible.

The number of infections may increase slightly due to seasonal factors — the virus is known to spread slower in summer and faster in autumn and winter— but does not place a significant burden on the health system.

If this happens, no measures beyond those already in place would be necessary.

READ MORE: ANALYSIS: Is Switzerland lifting its Covid-19 restrictions too quickly?

Not so good: more contaminations

In this second scenario, there is an increase in the number of cases in autumn or winter.

There may be several reasons for this, for example the large proportion of unvaccinated people, seasonal effects — people tend to stay indoors together in cold weather, and contaminations are easier — or the appearance of new, more infectious variants.

This situation could overburden the health system and require the reintroduction of certain measures, such as the obligation to wear a mask outdoors.

Booster vaccinations may also be necessary.

The worst: new virus mutations

In scenario three, one or more new variants appear, against which the vaccine or the post-recovery immunity are less effective or no longer effective.

A new wave of pandemic emerges, requiring strong intervention by the public authorities and a new vaccination.

Which of the three scenarios is most likely to happen?

The government hasn’t said, but judging by the comments of health officials, the latter two are the strongest contenders.

Firstly, because the highly contagious Delta mutation, which is spreading quickly through many countries, is expected to be dominant in Switzerland within a few weeks.

It is expected that the virus will spread mostly to those who are not vaccinated and, to a lesser degree, to people who have only had one shot of the vaccine, according to Andreas Cerny, epidemiologist at the University of Bern

READ MORE: How Switzerland plans to contain the Delta variant

Another concern is related to the appearance of the new variants which could be as or possibly even more contagious than Delta and not as responsive to the current vaccines.

The government said the best chance of avoiding the second or third scenarios is to ensure people are vaccinated.

“Widespread vaccination of the population is crucial to relieve the burden on the healthcare system and to manage the epidemic. A possible increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the autumn will largely depend on the proportion of the population that has been vaccinated,” the government wrote in a press statement.

The government has also indicating it is preparing for booster vaccinations to take place in 2022 and are encouraging cantons to keep their vaccine infrastructures in place.

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