ST R AT E G IC E NV IR ONME NT What does the FIS see? Switzerland: decline in security in the heart of Europe Switzerland’s geographical location in the heart of Europe, surrounded by states governed by the rule of law, gives it and its inhabitants a high degree of security. Unlike the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine, Switzerland is not directly affected by Russia’s efforts to regain its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. Moreover, the approximately 136,000 migrants who reached Europe via Mediterranean and overland routes in 2018 did not initially land in Switzerland, but in Spain, Italy or Greece. Despite this, Switzerland’s security buffer zone has weakened overall, as political stability and economic robustness have been diminishing in Europe as a whole for a number of years. Political polarization in the EU is being exacerbated and a strain is being placed on its cohesion, in particular by intra-European migration movements and the 628,000 asylum applications, which were filed EU-wide in 2018. The increasing uncertainty in its surrounding has also made security policy a more important issue for Switzerland. The security authorities are already facing challenges from the continuing heightened terrorist threat, intensive intelligence activities by Russia, in particular, and cyber attacks on the Swiss economy emanating from China, Russia and other states. Regional powers such as Turkey or SIT UAT ION R E PORT 2 0 1 9 | FIS 19