No Cohesion Funds for ReArm Europe Defence Plan, Declares Italian PM

Rome: Not even one euro should be taken out of the EU’s cohesion funds to fund the new ReArm Europe defence plan, Premier Giorgia Meloni told the Senate Tuesday. “I take this opportunity to announce that Italy does not intend to divert a single euro from the Cohesion Funds for defense and we are all in agreement on this”, Meloni stated during her communications to the Senate, ahead of the upcoming European Council meeting.

According to Ansa News Agency, Meloni emphasized that the 800 billion euros allocated for the ReArm Europe plan are not sourced from existing spending items or additional European resources. She highlighted Italy’s successful opposition to the automatic reallocation of cohesion funds towards defense, describing it as a battle they have won.