Speaking before a joint session of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees in the Chamber and Senate, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani outlined Italy’s upcoming military investment strategy following the NATO Summit in Ankara. Tajani confirmed that the government has submitted a request to access €14.9 billion under the European Union’s Safe program by the end of the year, handing implementation plans over to Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.
The Safe (Security Action for Europe) initiative is an EU financial mechanism designed to assist member states in boosting defense manufacturing through joint procurement programs. Minister Crosetto clarified that utilizing the fund will not increase state expenditure or represent a political shift, describing it as a purely financial maneuver. Operating through Safe provides a technical alternative to issuing government bonds like treasury bills (BoTs and CcTs), with the executive evaluating the optimal conversion amount in the coming weeks based on interest rate advantages.
Crosetto noted that the primary political decisions will instead unfold during the upcoming autumn budget adjustment. Parliament is expected to vote on allocating 0.9% of GDP to defense and 0.6% to energy, leveraging inflation-related spending flexibility to shore up national strategic capabilities through 2028.