Representatives of both air forces signed the bilateral agreement in Meiringen. After the debate about the fighter jet decision, this is a sign that the relationship between Bern and Paris is easing.
An F-35 fighter jet of the Italian Air Force as an exhibit in March 2022 at Emmen Air Base.
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Brigadier Werner Epper and General of the French Air Force Division Dominique Tardif renewed the bilateral agreement between Switzerland and France on the air police in Meiringen on Tuesday. The 2004 agreement regulates airspace patrols, assistance to planes in difficulty and the use of armed fighter jets to enforce the rules. It also includes regular joint exercises. «This agreement enables smooth cross-border cooperation in the field of aviation security. It thus guarantees better protection for our citizens, »says a statement from the French embassy.
A few years ago this signing would have been a formality, today it marks the end of a small ice age. After years of debate, the Federal Council decided in June 2021 to procure the US F-35 fighter jet. The decision not only opened up rifts in domestic politics, it also led to tension in foreign policy.
Shortly after the decision, a French think tank wrote in an article in the Paris business magazine La Tribune, calling for military cooperation with Switzerland to be reconsidered. With its decision in favor of the F-35, Switzerland “turned its back on France,” the authors wrote. In the future, Paris will have to charge Bern for services such as securing airspace over Geneva during high-level political meetings.
The French ambassador in Switzerland, Frédéric Journès, said in an interview with the NZZ in December that Switzerland and France had missed an opportunity when procuring the fighter jet.