By Silvia Marchetti
ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s parliament is expected to clear on Thursday a defense budget increase to reach 2% of GDP following the Ukraine crisis, though the goal is to achieve at European level a common funding mechanism for military expenditures, according to ruling coalition sources.
“We have pledged, as per NATO agreements back in 2014, to raise defense spending to 2% by 2024, and given we’re still far from the target, we intend to speed this process up,” said an official.
Italy currently earmarks just 1.6% of GDP to the military sector, far below the amount spent by other European countries which are already getting close to NATO’s 2% target.
On Thursday, Italy’s Senate is expected to approve the so-called ‘Ukraine decree’ with aid to refugees and the defense budget spike, but given dissent among ruling allies the government might decide to call for a vote of confidence to ensure the approval of the decree, which is also supported by opposition groups.
The 5 Stars Movement is against a “sudden” spike in defense expenditures, said a party official, who argued it is not clear “where and how the government will find some EUR 15 billion to fund such defense booster in just two years.”
“In the past three years 5 Stars-led cabinets have already increased expenditures for weapons and investments in defense systems by EUR 1 billion each year, we’re getting close to what other European countries spend for defense but we’re against an arms race,” added the 5 Stars official.
Growing contrasts between 5 Stars leader Giuseppe Conte and premier Mario Draghi over boosting military expenditures are destabilizing the ruling coalition at a delicate moment when it should demonstrate unity and stability, argued a Democratic party official, who also noted that Germany had just recently decided to increase its military spending by EUR 100 billion.
As the 5 Stars are still the largest party in the Senate, if they vote against the defense budget increase the government would end up being defeated, with the risk of triggering a political crisis. However, 5 Stars sources argue they would seek to avoid a showdown by requesting a revision in the timeline for spending increases.
“All we ask for is to increase the military budget gradually, to reach the 2% target by 2030, rather than rush it by 2024. Perhaps we might get there by 2028, but it will largely depend on the stability of our public finances and our spending leeway, let alone the fact that we’re still tackling a deep economic crisis,” added another 5 Stars source.
The European Union is bound to play a key role in shaping, and financing, the continent’s future military strategy.
Rome supports common funding at European level of defense programs and key investments not just through a single EU budget, but also through the issuance of common debt instruments like eurobonds, which have already been used in the fight against the pandemic.
“It is quite clear that massive investments made for a common benefit, such as defense, must be jointly funded by all member states given the limited budgets of national governments under strain for COVID and all facing a spike in public debts”, said an official, who also argued how a joint military fund would boost Europe’s military role on the world stage.
Issuance of ‘military eurobonds’ would go into funding extra measures within the European Union’s new defense fund worth EUR 13 billion and already envisaged in the EU’s multi-annual 2021-2027 budget, but which sources define as “not enough to stave off potential future threats.”