Italy has called on the EU to treat soaring energy costs like defence spending by giving member states more freedom to borrow for emergency support measures,
According to Reuters, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Brussels should allow the same fiscal flexibility now available for defence, to be used for energy, as governments scramble to shield households and businesses from the latest market shock.
The proposal could open the door for Italy to fund aid worth almost €35bn (£30bn) if approved.
Tajani said: “Just as the EU has done with defence spending the same can be done with energy spending.”
Under current EU rules countries can use a national escape clause to exceed deficit limits for higher defence spending or during exceptional economic circumstances.
For defence this allows a deficit increase of up to 1.5% of GDP each year through to 2028.
Italy is already walking a tight fiscal line. This month Rome pledged to cut its budget deficit to 2.9% of GDP in 2026 from 3.1% last year keeping just inside the EU’s 3% ceiling despite a worsening economic backdrop linked to conflict involving Iran.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti have both signalled those targets could be reopened if the energy crisis deepens.
Italy has already spent around €1bn (£860m) cutting fuel duties until 1 May but consumer prices have barely moved.
Tajani described those steps as temporary saying longer term debt funded measures were not the preferred route.
The request underlines how energy security is being recast as a strategic priority on a par with defence. If Brussels agrees it would mark a significant shift in how the EU views the economic impact of energy shocks.
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