Switzerland adopts EU’s 8th package – and arms embargo

The Swiss Federal Council has adopted sanctions measures which replicate the European Union’s eighth package of sanctions against Russia.

The Swiss government said, ‘As of 23 November 2022, the Federal Council will now adopt the remaining measures of the 8th sanctions package. These include a legal basis for the introduction of price caps for Russian crude oil and petroleum products (oil price cap) as well as restrictions on other iron and steel products, aerospace goods and goods of economic importance to Russia. The measures also include bans on the provision of other services (IT, engineering, architecture, legal advice) to the Russian government and Russian companies, as well as sitting on the boards of certain Russian state-owned enterprises. In doing so, Switzerland ensures that access to Swiss law is respected and that the rule of law is fully guaranteed. This was the Federal Council’s condition for adopting these new bans.’

In addition, the Council has imposed an arms embargo on Russia, ‘some of which’, it says ‘will be extended to Ukraine for reasons of Swiss neutrality.’

‘The arms embargo has so far been implemented in Switzerland to a large extent on the basis of existing war material and goods control legislation. With the adoption of the embargo on military equipment, it is now explicitly included in the regulation in connection with the situation in Ukraine,’ said Switzerland’s competent authority for sanctions and export controls, SECO.

https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/de/home/seco/nsb-news.msg-id-91875.html