By ELIANE ENGELER

GENEVA — Switzerland will not join the European Union's anti-piracy efforts, lawmakers decided Thursday amid concern that participating in the mission off Somalia could violate the Alpine nation's long-standing neutrality.

The government — weakened by giving in to U.S. and European pressure on its banking secrecy rules and a dispute with Libya — had proposed joining the EU mission in hopes of boosting relations with its European neighbors.

Though lawmakers in the upper house, or Council of States, had approved the proposal, the National Council voted 102-81 Thursday against sending a 30-strong Swiss contingent to the EU naval operation under way in the Gulf of Aden.

"In the end it's about being involved in combat operations, and this clearly contradicts neutrality," said Martin Baltisser, spokesman for the nationalist Swiss People's Party.

Lawmakers also noted during the pre-vote debate that landlocked Switzerland has no warships of its own.

The EU mission — called Operation Atalanta — has about 10 ships and several maritime patrol airplanes assigned to protecting cargo ships and aid shipments off the Somali coast. Britain, France, Germany, non-EU Norway and neutral Sweden are among the countries that have contributed some 2,000 military personnel, and shipless contingents are generally assigned to land-based tasks.

Neutrality is a pillar of Swiss national identity, and the country has avoided international conflicts for the last two centuries. In recent years, however, it has contributed small numbers of troops to some U.N. peacekeeping missions.

Source: AP, Sept 24, 2009

The Swiss Cabinet had urged lawmakers to approve its proposal, saying that despite not being an EU member Switzerland should help protect Swiss cargo ships and U.N. food shipments.

Thirty-two merchant ships fly the Swiss flag on the world's seas, some carrying raw materials and goods through the Gulf of Aden, according to the Swiss Ship Owners Association.

The gulf, which runs between Somalia and Yemen, connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean and forms one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Associated Press Writer Bettina Bichsel in Bern, Switzerland, contributed to this report.