Strasbourg (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – While the European Commission is ready to mobilize up to 800 billion euros to finance ReArm Europe, the plan has sparkled debates in Italy, dividing the conservative majority and frustrating the opposition.
The debate on increasing European defence has been animating the Italian political scene since last week in particular, when von der Leyen officially proposed ReArm Europe. Meloni gave Italy’s green light at the Special European Council on March 6.
Yesterday, the European Parliament approved the white paper on the future of European defence – the Commission’s initiative to increase investments in defence and support von der Leyen’s rearmament plan – with 419 votes in favor, 204 against and 46 abstentions.
Although this vote wasn’t explicitly on ReArm Europe – the Commission relied on art. 122 of the TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), which allows the adoption of extraordinary measures in case of emergencies – the two plans are indeed strictly connected.
Meloni clarified that spending on defence also means investing in cybersecurity, critical infrastructure and related sectors. For this reason, ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists) MEPs from Brothers of Italy proposed an amendment to rename the plan “Defend Europe.” Their proposal didn’t get enough votes yesterday and didn’t pass.
Nicola Procaccini, ECR co-chair and member of Meloni’s party, and MEP Carlo Fidanza commented that re-naming the project was not a whim or a move to sugarcoat the plan to the public opinion. Their goal was to give a broader meaning to the world “defence,” that should not be focused entirely on weapons, they emphasized.
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani (Forza Italia) agrees with this perspective, adding that he doesn’t think it would be useful to send European troops to Ukraine, and that relations with the U.S. should be kept “alive, but” he argues, “with dignity and our heads held high. This is also what increasing our defence is for.”
Perplexity within the Italian conservative majority
Head of the Italian conservative party Lega Matteo Salvini, Deputy Prime Minister of the country and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, claims that ReArm Europe is a step in the wrong direction. That money is better spent on schools, hospitals, roads or to increase the salaries of armed forces’ employees, he says.
The Minister also said no to “money in Macron’s hands,” suggesting that if Europe had its own military led by the French President now, “We would already be at the verge of a war. So no, thank you.”
Aligning with their leader, MEPs from Lega did not vote in favor of the white paper on European defence today.
The Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti (Lega) was very perplexed by the Commission’s proposal too at the beginning, and called it “rushed and without logic.”
Ealy this week the Italian Minister then emphasized the importance of reinforcing InvestEU – an EU program to give an extra boost to investment and innovation – to mobilize more private fundings and not create excessive national debt.
This view is bringing conservatives closer on the issue for now, meanwhile the opposition is still unhappy, particularly the Five Stars Movement.
It makes no sense without an EU foreign policy
MEP Danilo Della Valle, member of the Italian Five Stars Movement and The Left group, told Brussels Morning Newspaper that it is “disgraceful and unacceptable” to spend up to 800 billion euros on defence rather than on social causes.
He argues that the EU should focus on diplomacy and insist on a peace agreement. After sending arms to Ukraine for three years, “We are now isolated. We must change our attitude to regain a seat at the table.”
Five Stars Movement leader and former Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte was in Strasbourg last Tuesday to protest with many of his party members against rearmament.
According to Della Valle, another issue is that the EU lacks a joint foreign policy, which is an obstacle to actually implementing an effective European defence plan.
When confronted with this point, ECR co-chair Procaccini dismissed it as “incoherent propaganda,” and added that, to build defence, these investments are a necessary step.
It’s not clear yet what an European strategy would actually look like on the issue of defence, given the many and different interests at play within the continent.
Relations with the U.S.
As of now the EU is mostly united on ReArm Europe. At the Special European Council on March 6, EU Commission President von der Leyen and President of the EU Council Costa were pleased with the support of member states’ leaders and highlighted how important it is that Europe “steps up for its own security.”
Constantly evolving positions of the United States on Ukraine and trade relationships are one of the main incentives for the European Commission to want to act swiftly and effectively.
Following the US-Ukraine meeting in Saudi Arabia on March 11, there is now the possibility of a 30 days long ceasefire on the table and the Trump administration resumed weapons supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
ECR Italian MEPs from Meloni’s party made it clear at a press conference in Strasbourg today that they are not giving up on their goal to serve as a bridge between Europe and the U.S. The Italian PM seems to be in Trump’s good graces and there are many incentives to keep the transatlantic cooperation going, they insist.
Will EU member states really cooperate?
MEP Della Valle told Brussels Morning Newspaper that a fracture within the EU on this front is just around the corner, and member states’ won’t agree on European defence and ReArm Europe for too long, he thinks.
The Dutch government is also divided on ReArm Europe due to concerns over excessive national debt. On Tuesday, the national parliament voted against the plan in a motion – supported by three of the four coalition parties – proposed by the conservative-liberal party JA21.
The upcoming European Council in Brussels on March 20-21 will determine what happens next, and in which direction Europe will decide to concretely move forward.
