The government has announced that Italy will join the Safe defense fund. It is a tool prepared by the European Union to allow states to invest in the equipment of their armies, with the main objective of integrating the European armed forces to make them more resistant in the event of an external attack.
The Safe Fund is part of the EU defense plan, which began after the attacks of the President of the United States Donald Trump at NATO. Europe is increasingly worried that, in the event of an external attack, the United States will not respect the commitments made and will not intervene to defend their allies.
Italy adheres to the Safe fund
The Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, returning from Ethiopia, summoned some of the most important ministers of his government to Palazzo Chigi to discuss Italy’s accession to the European defense fund Safe.
The meeting were present:
- Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani;
- the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti;
- Defense Minister Guido Crosetto in video call;
- The Minister for European Affairs Tommaso Foti.
The approval of the adhesion of our country to the fund has arrived from the summit, which provides for 150 billion euros to modernize and integrate European armies. Government sources explained that this money will allow to lighten the expenses of the state in the defense sector, financing programs already planned for the next five years, between 2026 and 2030.
What is the SAFE fund
The SAFE Fund (Support for Ammunition and Armements Production Framework) is the main tool with which the European Union wants to push the states to invest in defense. It is financed with money taken from the EU budget, but the money can be used with precise limitations.
In particular, the Safe funds are subject to the European preference rule. To obtain them, the funded armaments must be mandatory for 65% of their value:
- in an EU country;
- In Ukraine:
- in a country of the European economic space (Norway, Iceland);
- in a country of the European free trade association (Switzerland).
Some other selected countries, such as the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan, will be able to participate in the 65%share, but only after specific bilateral agreements. Excluding, at least for the moment, the United States, despite the agreement on the duties, provides for a great purchase of American armaments by the EU.
NATO warns: Russia will be ready to attack in 2027
The goal of Safe, and the interior European defense program is that of not only to modernize, but above all to integrate European armies. At the moment, in fact, despite being almost all in NATO, the armed forces of the EU countries use weapons, means and ammunition that is not always compatible with each other.
This would hinder the collaboration in the event that they were forced to defend themselves from an external aggression. A hypothesis that, according to NATO, may not be so remote. The secret services of different countries of the alliance have warned that Russia would be ready to attack one of the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) starting from 2027. The goal would be to test the unit of NATO and EU, which will then be back for at least two years of Trump presidency.
