Italians divided over defence spending

euronews (in English)

Italians divided over defence spending  Defence spending remains one of the most debated topics in Europe,with countries like Italy and Spain under pressure to meet NATO’s targets.A recent poll reveals that Italians are evenly split on the issue, with strong opposition from 5 Star Movement supporters.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/13/italians-divided-over-defense-spending  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Defense spending is one of the most debated issues in Europe.

00:05Pressure has been growing on some EU members, like Italy and Spain,

00:09which have yet to meet NATO's target spending.

00:12But what does public opinion in the country say?

00:14According to a recent poll, Italians appear to be deeply divided on the issue.

00:19The poll suggests that Italians are both for and against increased defense spending in equal measure,

00:25with supporters of the Five Star Movement being mostly against it.

00:30The majority, 41% of Italians, are set to oppose deploying Italian soldiers to Ukraine

00:36unless it's part of a UN-led peace mission.

00:40But let's put the question straight to them.

00:42Yes, I agree with the Rearm Europe plan,

00:47because I believe that Europe needs to be able to defend itself at this particular moment.

00:55According to the principle of deterrence, that is, weapons are needed to avoid war.

01:02Absolutely not, because it's useless to arm ourselves for wars that are useless.

01:10It's completely the opposite.

01:13No, it's useless for Italians to go there.

01:16Let's kill ourselves and that's it.

01:18No, I'm against war.

01:20Against weapons, against everything.

01:22I'd say that money can be spent on other things.

01:26If there's a madman who wants to expand,

01:31we have to see how far he wants to go.

01:34We have to defend ourselves.

01:36That's all.

01:37Although largely endorsed by the Italian government,

01:40the Rearm Europe plan to strengthen the continent's defence capabilities

01:44has drawn mixed reactions from political parties.

01:48The risks for Italy are, first of all, the excessive debt,

01:54since Italy is an indebted country compared to other countries that are not indebted.

02:01Secondly, the dilution of some resources from the defence funds.

02:08And thirdly, the contrast on the part of several countries,

02:14including Austria and Sweden,

02:17to the creation of a real European public debt.

02:22Giorgia Orlandi for Euronews in Rome.

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