Turin, Oct. 3 (LaPresse) – “The security we need to guarantee today also includes the economic security of families, in the face of a crisis coming from outside and affecting everyone. Yet today I discover, from the words of a so-called opposition leader, that the government has allegedly decided to spend ‘€14 billion more on weapons’.” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto wrote this on X. “The government will propose to Parliament using the European safeguard clause, originally created for defense spending and now also extended to energy security, to finance both security measures and measures to address high energy costs. The Defense Ministry has paved the way for flexibility that can also help families and businesses. An intelligent and useful choice,” he explained. “But defense spending is also useful, President Conte. And reducing it all to the word ‘weapons’ means ignoring, or pretending to ignore, what we are actually talking about. “Of every €100 allocated to defense, €60 goes to personnel: the men and women of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri and civilian staff. Altogether, that is 278,000 people. “€10 is used for day-to-day operations: fuel, maintenance, uniforms and canteens. These are resources that support the work of thousands of shopkeepers, tradespeople and small businesses. “€30 finances investments, which also include the equipment and weapons needed to fulfill our mission: defending citizens and democracy.”
Budget, Crosetto to Conte: “Defense spending does not mean weapons alone”
Turin, Oct. 3 (LaPresse) – “The security we need to guarantee today also includes the economic security of families, in the face of a crisis coming from outside and affecting everyone. Yet today I discover, from the words of a so-called opposition leader, that the government has allegedly decided to spend ‘€14 billion more on weapons’.” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto wrote this on X. “The government will propose to Parliament using the European safeguard clause, originally created for defense spending and now also extended to energy security, to finance both security measures and measures to address high energy costs. The Defense Ministry has paved the way for flexibility that can also help families and businesses. An intelligent and useful choice,” he explained. “But defense spending is also useful, President Conte. And reducing it all to the word ‘weapons’ means ignoring, or pretending to ignore, what we are actually talking about. “Of every €100 allocated to defense, €60 goes to personnel: the men and women of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri and civilian staff. Altogether, that is 278,000 people. “€10 is used for day-to-day operations: fuel, maintenance, uniforms and canteens. These are resources that support the work of thousands of shopkeepers, tradespeople and small businesses. “€30 finances investments, which also include the equipment and weapons needed to fulfill our mission: defending citizens and democracy.”