Italy calls for new European defense system that includes Ukraine
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto (photo: Getty Images)
A new European security model could bring together not only EU member states but also Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Türkiye, and other countries across the continent, according to Türkiye Today.
New defense architecture
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said that Europe's long-term security system should not be limited to the framework of the European Union. He noted that the future model of defense cooperation should cover the entire continent and include countries that are not members of the EU.
According to the head of Italy's defense ministry, the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Moldova, the Western Balkan countries, Türkiye, and Ukraine should become partners in the new security architecture.
"The response to be given in the long term must be a perspective of strengthened defense that is not limited solely to EU borders, but is geographically continental in a genuine sense, extending to partnerships to be built with the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Moldova, the Western Balkans, Türkiye and Ukraine," Crosetto stressed.
Why Europe needs to change its approach
According to the minister, European governments need to abandon the previous approach to defense planning designed for decades ahead.
He noted that the military and political situation is changing too quickly, so the development of defense capabilities must take new challenges into account.
Governments "can no longer limit themselves to planning capabilities that will be available in ten or fifteen years, when the scenario will have completely changed," the minister said.
Crosetto also drew attention to the possible gradual reduction of the US military presence in Europe due to Washington shifting its strategic priorities toward the Indo-Pacific region.
According to him, European countries need to take such a scenario into account in advance when shaping their own defense policies.
What priorities Italy has identified
The minister's statements are based on a new strategic document from the Italian Ministry of Defense, which defines the main directions for the development of the armed forces for the 2027-2029 budget period.
The document names the development of satellite communications, stronger protection of underwater critical infrastructure, improved cybersecurity, and countering information threats among the key priorities.
In addition, Crosetto proposed creating a national and pan-European center to combat hybrid threats.
A "national and European" center for countering hybrid warfare must be created, he said.
According to the minister, such a structure would allow allies to exchange information more effectively and coordinate actions to counter cyberattacks, disinformation, propaganda, and other elements of hybrid warfare.
Italian law enforcement officials previously reported dismantling a spy network that, according to investigators, operated on behalf of Russia's Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Prosecutors said members of the group collected information about Western air defense systems supplied to Ukraine.
