Italy expects NATO to raise defence spending target to between 3.5% and 5% of GDP
ROME, May 21 (Reuters) - NATO will raise the defence spending target for its member nations to between 3.5% and 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 2% at the next alliance summit in June, Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Wednesday.
Under pressure from the United States to raise its outlays on security, Italy said it would meet this year the 2% target through a series of accounting changes.
Proposals have been drafted to boost Italy's defence budget while limiting any impact on its strained state coffers.
"The Italian government will express itself and discuss its ideas (at the June summit), and there NATO will make a decision," Crosetto said, replying to questions in the lower house of parliament.
Raising Italy's defence budget to a target level of 5% of GDP on paper would require more than 60 billion euros ($68 billion), a commitment that might be tough to meet for Italy, which sees its massive public debt rising to almost 138% of GDP in 2026 before edging down the following year.
However, Crosetto said the defence budget ought to include a series of items that were already factored into the overall government budget, such as money spent for operational capabilities, communications and space policies.
He also mentioned spending aimed at increasing the resilience of critical infrastructure and improving military mobility.
In reply to the opposition in parliament, who believe boosting the defence budget would take money away from Italy's social spending, Crosetto said it was ultimately up to parliament to set out the target.
"We are a parliamentary republic and the budget is discussed in this Chamber and voted on in this Chamber, so I will take note of what NATO decides and what parliament subsequently decides," he said.
($1 = 0.8822 euros)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Britain bled for America after 9/11 - but Trump still calls us NATO freeloaders
Once again, NATO's warning sirens are blaring but this time they're being sounded not just by a hawkish US defence secretary, but by Donald Trump's hand-picked megaphone. Pete Hegseth, a Fox News fixture turned Pentagon mouthpiece, has marched into Brussels and told Europe to get its act together. His demand? NATO allies must ramp up defence spending to five per cent of GDP or risk losing American support. It's a steep ask, but let's be honest: this isn't coming from Hegseth alone. He's simply parroting the orders of his puppetmaster back in Washington. Trump has spent years bellyaching that Europe doesn't pull its weight, pushing the fiction that the United States carries the whole NATO alliance like a single parent doing all the chores. Hegseth is now trying to turn that narrative into policy. Never mind that the only time NATO's mutual defence clause, Article 5, has ever been invoked was to defend the United States. After the horrors of 9/11, it was Britain, France, Canada and others who answered the call and bled alongside American forces in Afghanistan. We didn't hesitate. We didn't quibble. We showed up. But Trump? He recently claimed he doesn't believe NATO allies would come to America's defence if the roles were reversed. It wasn't just insulting, it was revisionist nonsense. Trump has never let the facts get in the way of a good rant. And now, with his second term, he's dusted off the old playbook: threatened the allies, demanded more cash, and wrapped it all in a red-white-and-blue flag of grievance. Hegseth, speaking ahead of a NATO defence ministers meeting, didn't bother with diplomacy. 'The commitment is there. Five per cent on defence spending,' he said. 'We don't need more flags. We need more fighting formations… hard power.' In other words, stop talking and start paying up or else. NATO's new Secretary-General, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, echoed the urgency. He made it plain: sticking to the current two per cent spending target won't cut it anymore. 'Forget it,' he said bluntly. In the face of Russia's aggression, he added, Europe must 'equalise' with the US. And what of Britain? We're currently hovering at just over two per cent - enough to technically meet the old NATO target, but nowhere near the five per cent being floated now. Downing Street is under pressure to lift that figure to 3.5 per cent to avoid falling out with the Trump White House. Sir Keir Starmer has promised to raise defence spending to three per cent when economic conditions allow, which, for those in the States, has been taken as political code for 'don't hold your breath.' Meanwhile, NATO wants to have 300,000 troops ready to deploy to the eastern flank within 30 days. Experts say we're nowhere close. Russia isn't waiting around, and if we don't catch up, we'll be caught out. Let's not kid ourselves. These new capability targets aren't just about tanks and missiles, they're about logistics, transport, refuelling, and the infrastructure needed to move large armies quickly. All of it costs serious money. The uncomfortable truth is this: for too long, Britain and Europe have been skating by on goodwill, political promises, and Washington's indulgence. That indulgence may soon run dry, and we'll only have ourselves to blame. It's time to stop playing catch-up, stop relying on American muscle, and start taking responsibility for our own defence. If we want to remain a serious player on the world stage, we need to start acting like one before Trump throws his NATO dummy out of the pram once and for all.
Daily Mirror
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Keir Starmer makes crucial vow after free school meals boost
Keir Starmer said expanding free school meals to more than half a million more pupils next year was a 'down payment' on the Governments plans to drive down child poverty Keir Starmer has insisted his Government will tackle the child poverty crisis affecting millions of kids. The Prime Minister said his decision to expand free school meals to more than half a million more pupils next year was a "down payment" on driving down hardship. He signalled there was more to come, saying: "I was very proud of the last Labour government for driving down child poverty. "This is a down payment on what we will do on child poverty, which needs to be seen in the round." Speaking to the Mirror at a primary school in Harlow, Mr Starmer said he was determined to make driving down child poverty part of his Government's legacy. Major change to free school meal rules unveiled - saving parents up to £500 But he refused to say whether he would scrap the Tory two-child benefit limit, which has been blamed for pushing families into hardship. Pressed on the two-child limit, he said: "I am very proud that we have done it in relation to child poverty. I don't think there is a silver bullet. "Everybody who has looked at it will say there is no one thing that you can say if you do that, then all else follows. So that's why we're looking at a range of measures." He added: "I do very much want to get to the root causes of this, because if you're really going to tackle child poverty in a sort of sustained way, you have to get to the root causes." Pressure is mounting on the Government to do more to help the 4.5million children growing up in poverty in this country. Yesterday, the PM announced a major change to free school meal rules - in a major victory for the Mirror's campaign to end hunger in classrooms. From September 2026, all children in families claiming Universal Credit will be eligible for free dinners, saving parents up to £500 a year. Around 500,000 more pupils will be able to get a school lunch as part of a £1billion package. The PM spoke to the Mirror after serving up school dinners to hungry kids at Down's Primary School in Harlow, Essex. He said: "What sat behind this is a real sense of Labour values, of showing what a difference a Labour government makes. "My primary focus was on the attainment of children. All the evidence is clear that if children have proper meals, particularly at school, then it helps them attain. "But also on the impact on parents because for parents, this is a saving of the best part of £500 pounds per child in a cost of living crisis. That is a huge difference for them." The PM also praised the Mirror for its long running campaign on free school meals. He said: "I do pay tribute to the mirror and the campaign that you have run for a number of years, because it is the first time ever that any government has done this. "I'm really proud that this Labour government has done it." He added: 'People often say, what's a Labour government for? "Well, today is a part of our answer to that question, which is giving every child the best opportunity in life.'
Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
PETER HITCHENS: The police are revolting against the people of this country. They have failed to do their jobs and now they dare threaten us... the time has come for change
Our police chiefs have now quite obviously grown too big for their helmets. Their heads have got too swollen, while their feet, which they barely use any more, have gone soft from lack of contact with the pavement. The sheer nerve of their new threat to stop investigating some crimes if they don't like the size of their budget is an outrage. If Sir Keir Starmer wants to evoke a great cry of 'At last!' from the people of this country, he will very swiftly squash this disgraceful revolt against the public and Parliament by three of the most senior figures in the police hierarchy.
