NATO: 5% investments also for national growth and security
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
• Full support for NATO as a guarantee of peace, freedom, and security in the world.
• The EU spends €350 billion, the second highest in the world, but does not have armed forces proportional: a political failure of the EU Commission under socialist leadership.
• Need for unified European defense platforms, avoiding competing weapons systems, and ensuring interoperability of equipment, both electronic and mechanical.
• Giorgetti (Minister of Economy): the 5% target is a strategy to strengthen national industry, growth, and sovereignty.
• Crosetto (Minister of Defence): Europe is a “military dwarf” without U.S. deterrence.
FULL SPEECH:
Rome, 10 Sept. 2025 – “Mr. President, colleagues,
we work for peace, with conviction. The Atlantic Alliance is a guarantee of peace, freedom, and security for Italy and the West. At the June summit in The Hague, the new Defence Investment Plan was approved, setting the goal of increasing defense and security spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Italy has endorsed this goal, but we have also made it clear that it must be a strategic investment for our country, with a significant portion of resources allocated to resilience, technological innovation, advanced industrial development, civil infrastructure, and cutting-edge scientific research.
We are talking about advanced technologies: artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity, advanced materials, infrastructure. Not just for defense, but to support jobs, growth, and development. In short, we are talking about Italy’s future! As happened with the Autostrada del Sole – as a Tuscan, I must emphasize this – which made Italy thrive, connected territories, and created a bridge between North and South, yes, dear colleagues, a bridge that opened a season of trust and development in our country. Minister Giorgetti said it clearly: 5% is not just a number, but a sustainable strategy that strengthens industry, growth, and national sovereignty.
Let’s be clear, therefore: when we talk about defense spending, we must not talk only about armaments! As the League, we are against top-down projects worth 800 billion that risk favoring only France and Germany. There is a fact we cannot ignore: the European Union spends 350 billion on defense, second only to the USA. But European armies are not the second best in the world! It is evident that there has been a massive political failure by this socialist-led European Commission: now all European peoples are paying the price! We must strengthen the West, not divide it; but to do so, we must know who we are and promote our values, our history, our traditions. They never remember this in Brussels!
Minister Crosetto said it clearly: Europe is a military dwarf; without U.S. deterrence and without a cultural and industrial shift, it will remain irrelevant. If we had well-coordinated European armies, it would also benefit our American allies, for peace, freedom, and development in the world, against Islamic extremism, terrorism, and the communist regimes that still survive today.
Mr. President, turning to the opposition motions under discussion today, I note how they all forget the other conflicts in the world, apart from Ukraine and Gaza, which number about a hundred: Sudan, Congo, Ethiopia, just read the dossier on forgotten conflicts from the International Policy Observatory! The opposition weaponized only the most well-known conflicts, those that have the most impact on voters and suit their propaganda, forgetting that suffering and wars cannot be bent to the political convenience of the moment.
The motion by Honorable Richetti highlights some data but bends it to a narrative we do not share. The motion by Honorable Boschi confuses strategic priorities with slogans and attacks NATO, isolating Italy. On the other hand, it reflects the vision of Senator Renzi, yesterday against, then in favor, and today skeptical of von der Leyen. The one from the 5 Star Movement, in the name of Ricciardi, well, Mr. President, I find it very consistent with their politics. First of all, the two Conte governments increased military spending. Then, I find it consistent also with their policy of Yeses: Yes to citizen’s income, Yes to the 110% superbonus, Yes to radical and ideological environmentalism disconnected from reality. But also very consistent with their great NOs: NO to TAV, NO to nuclear power, NO to the Terzo Valico, NO to the Mose, NO to the waste-to-energy plant in Rome. And today, Mr. President, the 5 Stars also say NO to defense, which is actually a NO to NATO, a NO to our alliances, and a YES to China. Blinded by ideology, they want a weaker Italy, more dependent on foreign powers, less competitive. Dear 5 Stars, you can only win elections in one way: by promising universal income!
The Zanella motion from the far left resembles more an ideological manifesto from the late 19th century than a realistic proposal for the good of the country.
Mr. President, I conclude with the PD motion. It is extremely embarrassing that former President D’Alema attended Xi Jinping’s military parade. Does the PD still believe in NATO, or does it want to buy weapons from China? Beware, the problem is enormous! And we ask ourselves: what is the PD’s stance today? Does it follow D’Alema’s line, perhaps Guerini’s, or that of this motion?
In conclusion, we in the League are convinced that we must invest in defense also to ensure internal security with the recruitment of soldiers and carabinieri to patrol streets and borders.” – this is the speech delivered in the Chamber of Deputies by Honorable Simone Billi, group leader of the Lega Salvini Premier in the Foreign Affairs Committee, during the discussion of the Zanella, Ricciardi, Boschi, and Richetti motions opposing the increase in defense spending requested by NATO.