First Supreme Defense Council for the government led by Mario Draghi. Libya is the “priority”, while the return from Afghanistan will not be an abandonment. And the message on investments for the sector returned from Colle: “a development opportunity for the country “
Investing in Defense is “a development opportunity for the country”, also and above all “in the post-pandemic recovery and resilience phase, especially in the high-tech sectors”. This is the message that comes from the Quirinale, where the head of state is today Mattarella chaired the Supreme Defense Council, the first of the era of Mario Draghi. At Colle, together with the premier, the ministers went up Luigi Di Maio, Luciana Lamorgese, Daniele Franco, Lorenzo Guerini, Giancarlo Giorgetti and the Chief of Defense Staff Enzo Vecciarelli. As usual, the undersecretary to the presidency of the Council also participated, Roberto Garofoli, the general secretary of the Quirinale Ugo Zampetti and the general Rolando Mosca Moschini, secretary of the Supreme Council. The first message was for the contribution to Defense in the fight against Covid-19, with “recognition for the all-round commitment of the Armed Forces in more than a year of pandemic”.
BETWEEN NATO AND EUROPEAN DEFENSE
Then it was the turn of the initiatives between NATO and the European Union, “which remain the pillars of our country’s security and defense policy, called upon to react promptly to the health emergency and to the effects it is having on the strategic scenario”. Italy, reads the Quirinale note, “supports all measures aimed at increasing their effectiveness in order to successfully pursue international peace and security”. The reference is not accidental. In a world made more uncertain by the pandemic, both organizations are engaged in a process of internal reflection. The meeting of the Supreme Defense Council took place exactly one month after the summit of NATO heads of state and government.
REFORMS IN PROGRESS
Scheduled for June 14, it will bring Joe Biden on his first trip to Europe as president of the United States. The summit will welcome the “NATO2030” strategic reflection prepared by the secretary general Jens Stoltenberg (with multiple inputs) and will launch the process of defining the new Strategic Concept. For the Union it concerns the nascent Common Defense. Last week, the High Representative Josep Borrell he chaired the EU Council in the Defense format in Brussels, which gave further impetus to the Strategic Compass. It is the “strategic compass”, expected by 2022, which will have to give homogeneity to interests and objectives among the Member States, from which commitments and priorities will derive. Italy is leading the work on the theme of “security partnerships”, relevant both for relations with NATO and for the gaze of both organizations towards the south, in the Mediterranean, towards North Africa.
THE SECURITY CONTEXT
This is linked to the second part of today’s agenda at the Quirinale: “the threats and risks that characterize the numerous crisis areas and operational theaters”. The picture is complex. “La pandemic – explains Colle – is worsening the socio-economic situation of the most fragile regions, with humanitarian consequences and also implications for the safety of the populations ”. In this context, “transnational terrorism could find new room for maneuver and remains a worrying threat, which must be countered with decisive action, of a multilateral nature and within the framework of the initiatives of the international community”. Among the theaters that Italy has particularly paid attention to: Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq.
BETWEEN LIBYA …
Libya “remains in a critical situation and is a priority for our country, within the framework of a national strategy that sees its center of gravity in the Mediterranean basin”, clarifies the Quirinale. More: “Italy strongly supports the new government of national unity and the reunification process e normalization supported by the United Nations, in the primary interest of the Libyan people and for the stability of the entire region ”. In practical terms, Italy works to strengthen European action, starting with the EuNavFor-Med Irini operation, under the command of the admiral Fabio Agostini, and to activate its training role in favor of the Libyan Navy and Coast Guard.
… AND AFGHANISTAN
On Afghanistan, the theme is the return that “in compliance with the decisions of the Atlantic Alliance, must take place in a framework of maximum security, according to the plans drawn up in agreement with the allies”. Italy, reiterates today’s note, will continue “to support the country, in terms of development cooperation, to consolidate the progress made”. In parallel there is the commitment in Iraq, for which Italy is a candidate to lead the strengthened NATO mission. In the country “it is necessary to continue to work, together with the government and the institutions of the country, in order to guarantee the necessary security framework for rebuilding a climate of tolerance and social inclusion, a precondition for a future of peace and development ”.
INVESTMENTS FOR THE COUNTRY
Last part of the agenda, as usual, for the health of the Defense. The president reiterated a message already sent to politics in the past: “Investments in the sector represent a development opportunity for the country and can provide a fundamental contribution in the post-pandemic recovery and resilience phase, especially in the high-tech sectors. “. Words that sound particularly current in the perspective of the NRP, for which the Defense sector has given willingness to participate, especially on the channels of digitization and overall security of the country-system. Finally, another usual message, “is the need to proceed with determination in the process of inter-force integration of the Armed Forces was reiterated, in order to make the best use of the available resources and increase the overall effectiveness of the Defense system ”.