Rome, 28 July (LaPresse) – “Six months ago, I wrote to all my colleagues in continental Europe – not the 27 Member States – saying that we need to consider a continental European defence system to be integrated into NATO. By ‘continental’, I mean including Switzerland, the Balkans, the United Kingdom and Norway, because the larger the bloc, the greater the defence capability. This would bypass any vetoes that might arise within the EU-27 and would provide a stronger deterrent. It is an Italian initiative; Italy is taking action, and if anything, it is the others who are failing to respond.” This was stated by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto during the follow-up hearing on the outcomes of the NATO summit in Ankara before the joint Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, alongside Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. “ “On the industrial front too, we were the first to call for greater integration, to set an example that barriers – including technological ones – needed to be broken down in Europe,” added Crosetto, who believes that on this issue “there is a nationalistic resistance, but not on Italy’s part; I shan’t name the countries in question. But from this point of view, Italy is far ahead of the others in its willingness to integrate the industrial sector as well.”
Defence, Crosetto: ‘Italy is taking action on the European proposal, whilst others are not responding’
Rome, 28 July (LaPresse) – “Six months ago, I wrote to all my colleagues in continental Europe – not the 27 Member States – saying that we need to consider a continental European defence system to be integrated into NATO. By ‘continental’, I mean including Switzerland, the Balkans, the United Kingdom and Norway, because the larger the bloc, the greater the defence capability. This would bypass any vetoes that might arise within the EU-27 and would provide a stronger deterrent. It is an Italian initiative; Italy is taking action, and if anything, it is the others who are failing to respond.” This was stated by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto during the follow-up hearing on the outcomes of the NATO summit in Ankara before the joint Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, alongside Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. “ “On the industrial front too, we were the first to call for greater integration, to set an example that barriers – including technological ones – needed to be broken down in Europe,” added Crosetto, who believes that on this issue “there is a nationalistic resistance, but not on Italy’s part; I shan’t name the countries in question. But from this point of view, Italy is far ahead of the others in its willingness to integrate the industrial sector as well.”
