From cyber parks to coeliac disease, to judo in naval bases: proposed amendments to the draft bill on national defence capability

The three senators are calling for the exclusion of ‘the use of autonomous weapon systems capable of selecting and engaging targets without meaningful, effective and verifiable human oversight’, and for ‘in order to ensure maximum transparency in investment for the modernisation of national defence, every new programme for the procurement of weapon systems or dual-use technologies be subject to the binding opinion of the relevant parliamentary committees, which shall decide by a two-thirds majority of their members’. Furthermore: ‘No less than 15 per cent of the total resources allocated by this Act to research and technological development in the defence sector shall be earmarked for the funding of industrial conversion projects for civilian purposes and for the ecological transition of decommissioned military industrial sites’.

Senators Zedda and Barcaiuolo (Fratelli d’Italia), on the other hand, are calling for Armed Forces personnel – with particular reference to units possessing specific professional and technical qualifications – to collaborate in the training and professional development of staff within the National Civil Protection Service, in accordance with procedures set out in agreements between the Ministry of Defence and the relevant public authorities.

Senators Alfieri, Delrio and La Marca (Democratic Party) have spoken out on the issue of the continuity of social security cover whilst exercising trade union rights, and propose that, during periods of paid trade union secondment, paid trade union leave, unpaid trade union leave and trade union leave of absence, the continuity of social security cover be ensured in accordance with the relevant regulations. They also propose that, without prejudice to forms of compulsory, notional or other contributions recognised by current legislation, the trade union-style professional association for military personnel may, subject to the consent of the person concerned, bear the full cost of any additional contribution charges necessary to offset the social security implications arising from the non-receipt, during the aforementioned periods, of pensionable remuneration.

Bruno Marton and Ettore Antonio Licheri (M5S) proposed that legal assistance and protection be provided for personnel involved in claims for compensation arising from incidents connected with the performance of their institutional duties, whilst on operational deployment in Italia and abroad, such as, amongst others, the Armed Forces’ contribution to territorial control, armed services, patrols, and the transport of personnel and materials.

In turn, Senators Murelli, Spelgatti, Dreosto and Pucciarelli (Lega Salvini Premier – Sardinian Action Party) have spoken out on the issue of fitness for military service and public emergency response roles, as well as for positions within the State Police, local police, the fire service and civil protection, for people with coeliac disease. Their proposal is that coeliac disease, in the absence of complications or confirmed severe clinical symptoms, should not constitute grounds for ineligibility for military service or for exclusion from competitive examinations and recruitment procedures within the Armed Forces, including the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza. The four senators are also calling for the establishment of a ‘National Aerospace Centre, based in Tuscany at Air Force facilities’.

Pucciarelli, Spelgatti and Dreosto are once again proposing to trial a judo section at the Italian Navy’s competitive sports centres, at facilities in the province of La Spezia.