Italy to Increase Defense Spending to Meet NATO Targets

DOHA, October 2. /TASS/. Italy is increasing defense spending and plans to continue doing so in order to meet NATO targets, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto has said.

The resources are there and will increase. The real question is how to spend them to create real capabilities to defend against threats that are changing every day, he said in an interview with the Emirati newspaper The National.

The minister added that more funds need to be spent on countering drones, utilizing artificial intelligence, and building an integrated air defense system.

Earlier, Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani stated that the country intends to reach the NATO-set defense spending target of 5% of GDP over the next decade. According to the minister, the country has raised defense spending to a level of 2.8%.

At the June 2025 NATO summit in The Hague, alliance leaders agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035; this figure will include 1.5% for the development of defense infrastructure and will take into account military supplies to Ukraine.