Latest news with #Crosetto
Egypt Today
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Today
Italy slams Netanyahu for killing ‘thousands of innocent Palestinians, risking damaging Israel'
CAIRO – 23 May 2025: Italy's Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto emphasized on Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'is wrong in killing thousands of innocent Palestinians,' warning that such actions 'risk damaging Israel itself.' 'The fact that this war is leading to the killing of thousands of innocent people is creating the conditions for Hamas to find even more consensus,' reported Italy's news agency ANSA, quoting Crosetto as saying at the Trento Economics Festival. The festival, taking place from 22 to 25 May in Italy's Trento, features the presence of representatives from top-notch European institutions as well as academics from around the world, business leaders, economists, and Nobel Prize winners. 'It is right for a friendly nation to say that Netanyahu is wrong, we must secure Palestine and give Palestine a future,' said Crosetto. 'I think it is right to tell Israel today that what is happening risks damaging Israel itself.' Israel has intensified its operations in Gaza since last week, killing hundreds of Palestinians over the past days, as part of its war that has persisted since October 2023. The war continues despite global condemnation, killing nearly 54,000 Palestinians predominantly women and children, according to the Gaza health authorities. Israel has also blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the 2.2 million residents of Gaza since March 2, pushing the enclave toward famine and leaving one in five residents facing starvation, according to UN estimates. Israel, who is facing unprecedented pressures from its closest allies over its handling of the war in Gaza, has pledged to resume a 'minimal' amount of humanitarian aid into the enclave after nearly three months of blockade#Egypt #Africa #MENAhttps:// — Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) May 21, 2025 Over the recent days, several European leaders have condemned Israeli handling of the war, including its persistent blockade of aid. On Tuesday, the European Union announced reviewing the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which spans political and economic ties between the two sides. The United Kingdom, France and Canada have called on the Israeli government to halt its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. In a joint statement, the three countries threatened 'concrete actions' against Israel in case of its failure to abide by the international humanitarian law. As Israel escalated its military operations, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez addressed the 34th Arab League summit held in Baghdad on Saturday, called for global pressure on Israel to 'halt the massacre in Gaza.' Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for a halt to the deadly military strikes in Gaza, stating on Saturday that 'we no longer want to see the Palestinian people suffer.' Ireland's Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris accused Israel of conducting 'genocidal activity' and 'a consistent pattern of war crimes,' stating that his country will consider a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian territories.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Italy expects NATO to raise defence spending target to between 3.5% and 5% of GDP
By Angelo Amante, Giuseppe Fonte ROME (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)
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Italy expects Nato to raise defence spending target to between 3.5% and 5% of GDP
Italy expects Nato to raise defence spending target to between 3.5% and 5% of GDP ROME - 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. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hindustan Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
NATO allies need to close defence spending gaps, Italy and Germany say
ROME -Boosting defence spending is a task for all NATO members willing to close gaps with allies, ministers from historic low-spenders Italy and Germany said on Friday, following a round of talks with European counterparts. Germany's Boris Pistorius and Italy's Guido Crosetto spoke after meeting in Rome with fellow defence ministers from Poland, France and Britain, while in Istanbul Russia and Ukraine held direct talks for the first time in three years. NATO allies are under pressure from the United States to agree on a goal to spend 5% of their GDP on defence over the next decade, a huge increase from the current 2% goal. "It is the task of all NATO states in Europe and beyond to close the capability gaps ... regardless of whether it ends up costing 2.5, 3 or 3.5%," Pistorius told reporters, referring to spending targets. On meeting capability goals, Pistorius said, "This will certainly cost more money than 2%. I suspect around 3% or more," declining to offer a set target in the debate on how much NATO countries should spend on defence. Hiking military spending is sensitive for highly indebted Italy. Rome was below the 2% target in 2024 and is set to hit it this year by including items - such as pensions for retired soldiers - which were previously excluded. According to NATO estimates, Germany's defence spending stood at 2.12% of GDP last year, up from 1.19% in 2014. Crosetto, a close ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, said Italy and Germany had to do more. "In recent years, we have not invested as much in defence as other nations; we did not think it was so important and necessary, now we have realised it," Crosetto told reporters.
South China Morning Post
15-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
‘Selfish' UK rebuked for not fully sharing fighter jet project tech with Italy, Japan
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has said Britain is not fully sharing technologies with Italy and Japan in a major project to develop a new fighter jet and urged London to bring down the 'barriers of selfishness'. Advertisement In an interview, Crosetto underscored the importance of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), which aims to develop by 2035 an aircraft that incorporates the most advanced technologies. The defence minister, a senior member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's rightist Brothers of Italy party, said sharing technology when making investments together was crucial to a 'serious relationship'. 'There is no longer anyone who can be considered first and second class and who wants to defend old legacies,' he said. 'You have to break down some barriers of selfishness. Italy has broken them down totally, Japan almost totally. It seems to me that the UK is much more reluctant to do this, and that's a mistake because selfishness is the worst enemy of nations.' Advertisement He did not give any specifics about what technologies the British might be holding back.
