Italy is unable to meet NATO’s financial demands – Defense minister

“Unrealistic” is how Guido Crosetto described the bloc’s spending mission.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told parliamentarians in Rome that his country has no chance of meeting NATO standards to increase its military spending to 2% of GDP in 2024 and probably won’t be able to do so in the next five years.

NATO estimates that Italy’s defence budget for this year will amount to 1.46% of the nation’s GDP. Despite an increase in defence spending, the ratio is expected to decline to 1.26% in 2025 and 1.38% the following year.

In remarks made on Tuesday before the defence and international affairs committees of both chambers of the Italian parliament, Crosetto stated that reaching the goal of 2% of GDP for military spending by 2024 would be “impossible” and “difficult for 2028 as well.” “We are in fact far from 2%, very far,” he continued.

According to Crosetto, “NATO must not set unrealistic financial objectives.”

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As Crosetto has already stated, Italy will not be able to raise its military spending to the extent that is required unless the defence budget is freed from EU budgetary restrictions. “It will be very difficult to reach the 2% minimum threshold envisaged by NATO within a reasonable timeframe if we do not resolve the current framework of inconsistency between the responsibility to strengthen security and the public finance [restrictions] imposed by the EU,” he stated in June.

At a 2014 conference, members of the Western military bloc decided to aim for defence spending to reach 2% of each nation’s GDP by 2024. In July, the bloc decided to turn the 2% level into a minimum condition rather than an objective. Only 11 of the 31 current members are expected to meet the goal this year, though.

Earlier this year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned parliamentarians that upholding the nation’s budget pledges was essential to preserving credibility and national sovereignty.

“There’s a cost to freedom. If you can’t defend yourself, someone else will, but they won’t do it for free,” the woman remarked. “This was never good business for anyone, and they will impose their interests even if they are different from yours.”