Defence financed with structural funds, tough objections by AVS, M5S and some socialists

Brussels—As Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen presses for increased defence spending on the continent ahead of the March 6 European Council, Italy’s political forces make their strenuous opposition heard in no uncertain terms. 

This morning (March 4), the president announced the proposal of a five-point plan for European rearmament that, among other funding sources, includes the possibility for member states to use cohesion policy programs to increase defence spending. This would mean that the 27 could sacrifice money earmarked for regional development: spending more on weapons at the expense of infrastructure, tourism, transportation.

Unhappy about this is not only the Chairwoman (S&D) of the European Committee of the Regions (COR), Kata Tütto, according to whom “to take funds away from cohesion would be a catastrophic mistake,” but also MEPs and delegates of Italian parties. There is reportedly a strong unease in the PD, while according to Left Green Alliance (AVS), “the senseless increase in military spending as a response to Trump” would be “a resounding own-goal, given that the US president was the first to call for more European investment for the benefit of the arms industry.” The Greens opposed the “misuse” of cohesion funds. They called for them to remain earmarked only for regional development by appealing to the EU Commission’s executive vice president Raffaele Fitto, who manages these funds. 

The 5-Star Movement shared the condemnation without half-measures: “War Eurobonds and the whole 800 billion plan to rearm Europe represent the culmination of a war madness that all European citizens must oppose.” The 5-Star Movement announced that they would take to the streets to demonstrate against the proposal on April 5, and an amendment would be presented at the European Parliament’s plenary demanding structural funds for regional development not be cut. “If Fitto continues to remain silent on the issue, we will see how the MEPs of Fratelli d’Italia and others will vote,” the movement’s MEPs added.

“Instead of working hand in hand with the United States, the commission sets itself up as an antagonist, having neither the means nor credible leadership.” So wrote in a note Silvia Sandrone, MEP of the Lega, attacking Von Der Leyen’s proposals. On cohesion funds, she added, “over the years we have not been able to invest in debt, health, security, aid to businesses, while to arm Europe we can.”

On the other hand, Mārtiņš Staķis, Latvian MEP and coordinator of the Greens/Efa group in the Committee on Security and Defense (SEAT), defended European rearmament, saying that, with the suspension of U.S. aid to Ukraine, “now is the time for Europe to step up, to increase its support for Ukraine.”