Against the backdrop of the customs conflict with the USA, Vice President of the Bundestag Omid Nouripour is suggesting Switzerland's membership in the European Union.

The Green Party politician told the German Press Agency: "The federal government should offer Switzerland the opportunity to quickly deepen cooperation, right up to a turbo membership for Switzerland in the EU."

Nouripour continued: "Should our Swiss friends, in the spirit of new times, wish to move closer to the European Union, Germany should actively support this."

US President Donald Trump has imposed a 39 percent tariff on imports from Switzerland, effective August 7. Most products from the EU are subject to a 15 percent tariff. Swiss business associations had spoken of a horror scenario, with tens of thousands of jobs at risk. The country, with a population of nine million, relies on exports, with the US being its most important market, accounting for 18 percent of its exports last year.

Nouripour: Smaller states vulnerable

"For centuries, the Swiss have maintained a tradition of strict neutrality," Nouripour said. "But the recent tariff dispute with Donald Trump painfully demonstrates how vulnerable smaller states are when left to their own devices. Politically neutral, economically global—that's no longer possible in the new era." Not in a world where reliable rules are increasingly threatened by the law of the jungle.

"Switzerland may be rich, but it is also at the mercy of the arbitrary games of the big players. From a Swiss perspective, the EU may not be the best choice, but it is a far more reliable one." The Swiss would undoubtedly be an asset to the EU, but the EU also has a lot to offer Switzerland in times of necessary cohesion.

SPD politicians also open

Previously, Markus Töns, European policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, had already expressed his openness to accepting Switzerland as the 28th member of the European Union. "If Switzerland applies to join the EU, it is very welcome," Töns told "Spiegel."

Switzerland's position

In Switzerland, however, EU accession has no chance. While there are business associations and some left-of-center MPs who are calling for faster EU integration, the right-wing SVP, the party with the largest number of voters, is strictly opposed. It even calls the package for a new basis for bilateral relations, which has been painstakingly negotiated for years, a "subjugation agreement." It is campaigning for its rejection if the package is put to a referendum, possibly in 2027.

"EU accession is not being seriously discussed in Switzerland, as polls show an overwhelming majority is against it," reported swissinfo.ch, the international online portal of the SRG media group with a public service mandate, in early August.