Crosetto: times have changed, NATO is changing too

Security is no longer guaranteed, the world has changed and it is time for NATO to change as well. With the winds of war blowing just a few kilometres from 'home' and the international situation becoming increasingly tense, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto does not hide his concern, just as he has never done so since he took office in Via XX Settembre. And from Padua, where he took part in a conference on defence and security, he explains his thoughts.

"The centre of the world is no longer the US and the EU, NATO must adapt to the changed issues," said the minister. "If NATO was created to guarantee peace and mutual defence, either it becomes an organisation that takes on this task by talking to the global South or we will not achieve the goal of having security within rules that apply to everyone.

"We often talk as if we were still living 30 years ago, but everything has changed. We talk about Europe as if Europe counted for something; perhaps at one time it might have counted if it had given itself a political role that it did not give itself, if it had had a foreign policy or defence. But its time is over, and I say that with sadness. The world has changed,' the Defence Minister went on to say. "The UN," he added, "counts as Europe in the world, nothing, less than a national, less than China, less than India or less than Israel".

Confirmation comes from world crises. From Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that later led to the attack on Iran. In a scenario, as Crosetto reiterates time and time again, in which 'the superpowers will increasingly count' to the detriment of the 'great democracies'.

On Italy's possible involvement in ongoing conflicts, the minister flaunts tranquillity and reassures that our country 'does not have to worry for now, wars are still far away even if the world is a more difficult place than it was 4-5 years ago'. In spite of everything, however, Italy must also reckon with the presence of US and NATO bases on its territory, even if, in the event of US military operations, any authorisation to fly over the airspace and use the infrastructure for refuelling and logistical support must still pass through the Ministry of Defence. This authorisation is issued by subsequently informing Parliament, but it is not a direct parliamentary prerogative, as is the declaration of a state of war, or the use of military contingents, for which a prior parliamentary resolution is required by law. 'At the moment,' Crosetto reassured, however, 'there is no request. It is useless to talk about something that does not exist".