"Abandon the stability pact" - Meloni's request to the European Commission has been rejected
The exemption from the Stability Pact should apply not only to defense, but also to the energy crisis. This is the request of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, expressed in a letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Brussels' immediate response leaves no room for concessions: the position remains unchanged: no exemption from the Stability Pact for energy spending.
"Italy," the Prime Minister stressed, "considers it necessary to temporarily extend the scope of the 'National Rescue Clause' already in force for defense spending, to include investments and exceptional measures needed to address the energy crisis, without changing the maximum deviation limits already in force. Without this necessary political coherence, it would be very difficult for the Government to explain to the public its possibility of resorting to the Safe program in the current conditions."
"We are responsible for defense, but energy is a priority. Italy, writes Meloni, will continue to do its part to strengthen European security and defense. This is a responsibility that we feel deeply, especially in the current international context. We will continue to advocate that the European Union invest more in its strategic security and defense capabilities. But today, in the eyes of European citizens, there is another emergency that is equally concrete and immediate, energy."
Meloni's long letter received a brief response from Brussels: "The European Commission's position has not changed. We have presented to member states a range of options available to address the current energy crisis," said a Commission spokesperson. "Currently, we are not including the National Defence Clause among these options, because we believe that the range of instruments presented should remain within a framework of fiscally responsible constraints. Of course, we are monitoring the situation as it evolves."
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