Premier Giorgia Meloni's office on
Friday welcomed the announcement by European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen that she wants to trigger an
emergency clause to allow governments greater scope for military
spending by not counting the expenditure in budget deficit
limits.
"The Italian government welcomes with satisfaction the
announcement by the President of the European Commission
concerning new initiatives aimed at increasing investments in
the defence sector, starting - as Italy has been requesting for
some time - with the exclusion of such expenditure from the
Stability Pact," the premier's office said.
"This is a first, fundamental step in the right direction, which
will also have to be followed by the establishment of common
financial instruments.
"The Italian government is ready to work constructively with the
European institutions and with the other member states to
achieve these important objectives together, starting with the
forthcoming presentation of the EU Defence White Paper".
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