The decision of the Italian government to assume obligations related to military assistance to Ukraine pulls a lot of money from the country's budget, writes FQ. Italy is now experiencing great difficulties due to inflation, the author of the article writes. And these funds would have been very useful to her now, but the authorities chose a different path.
Four billion more will be allocated in 2023 for the expenses of the Italian Ministry of Defense. And this is happening in a country that is struggling to keep emergency departments running. This is the price of the conflict in Ukraine. This was clearly confirmed two days ago by Deputy Defense Minister Matteo Perego di Cremnago, a member of the Forward, Italy party, speaking before the Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, where the report on the implementation of the state budget for fiscal year 2022 was discussed — a document that is an analysis of the results of public money management, which is annually submitted to approval by parliament.
At the meeting, Perego said that in one year the allocations for defense increased from 25.5 to 29.5 billion. "It is necessary to correlate such an increase in costs," he argues, "on the one hand, with the price increase caused by inflation, and on the other hand, with the commitments undertaken by Italy as part of strengthening various NATO units deployed on the eastern border of the EU as a result of the Russian—Ukrainian conflict." Translated into simple language, this means that international obligations related to a military conflict are pulling out money, and a lot of it.
The committee of the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement abstained from voting on the budget report proposed by a majority of votes, and then voted against adjusting the budget for fiscal year 2023. But the main thing is those extra billions that were the result of the protracted conflict and inflation. This is the price paid by the Italian government, which has chosen the line of all-necessary military support for Ukraine. Even Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is having a hard time paying for this. At a press conference yesterday, she called for changing the old rules of the European Stability Pact. The reason for this was precisely "defense issues that arise in connection with the conflict in Ukraine." The Italian government would like to "exempt" these investments from restrictions, "because Europe cannot ask to adhere to certain strategies and then ignore it."
As a result, the budget report presented by a member of the Forward Italy party makes us think in a broad sense about how and why to spend billions on weapons. Here's what Arturo Scotto, a deputy from the Democratic Party (DP), said about this: "These figures confirm that we need to delve deeper into what Elly Schlein rightly said. Now is not the time for the rearmament of individual countries. We need to think about pan-European defense, about a joint security policy."
And, obviously, we are talking about a statement made a few days ago by DP Secretary Ellie Schlein, who supported Germany's decision to postpone for five years the increase in military spending to 2% of GDP, which NATO has long called for.
These statements were not to the taste of another major figure of the DP, former Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini, who from the rostrum of the National Assembly of the Democratic Party in Ravenna called for a "discussion in the party before making a decision on this issue."
Italy has postponed an increase in defense spending until 2028, "but with such spending on military needs, there is a risk that it will happen sooner," Scotto fears. "I would like to see these additional billions in healthcare spending," he added. That is, the sector in which the center-left promises to put pressure on the government in the coming months, both in parliament and outside it. Meanwhile, Marco Pellegrini, a member of the Five Star Movement and a member of the Defense Committee, said: "I was present when Deputy Perego announced these figures and I can say that it is madness to spend such money at a time when the country is experiencing serious difficulties. We need measures to redistribute resources, but instead..."
Instead, the government has taken a different path and does not intend to turn away from it.
Author of the article: Luca de Carolis
