Italian soldier next to an armored vehicle Photo: Daniel MUNOZ / AFP / Profimedia
Italy's Ministry of Defense is considering increasing its military personnel by more than 60% over the next 18 years, at an estimated cost of around 6 billion euros, according to a document seen by Reuters.
This proposal was drawn up by military experts and was presented this week to the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, laying the foundations for an ambitious plan to restructure the armed forces to be made public by the end of March, reports Agerpres.
Experts have recommended increasing the combined personnel for the land, naval and air forces to 275,000 from the current 170,000, plus a reserve base of 15,000.
Last year, NATO nations agreed to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP under pressure from US President Donald Trump, a challenge for heavily indebted Italy, whose budget is generally smaller than that of its partners.
Last year, NATO estimated that Italy spent just 2.01% of GDP on defense.
Under the new proposal, which is not yet finalized and will need to be approved by parliament, the increase in staff would be gradual until 2044, with staff costs rising to almost 15 billion euros, from 8.8 billion euros currently.
Crosetto, a close ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, pledged last year for Italy to reach 5 percent of GDP by 2035. However, the government is likely to face strong opposition to such a radical increase, with critics saying the money would be better spent on health and education.
