Italian Armed Forces leadership to Europe: 'Global instability is a reality, now we need a common defence'
From Figliuolo to Goretti, a clear message came through: European military capabilities must be developed
5' min read
Key points
- Figliuolo: "Common security has been debated at European level for seven decades..."
- Luzi: 'Without a European foreign policy there can be no common defence policy'
- Dragon Hollow: 'The EU must demonstrate cohesion and unity of purpose'
- Masiello: "There are countries that trust neither NATO nor the EU"
- Goretti: 'I need to understand if there is the political will to arrive at a European defence'
5' min read
The Italian military leaders are sounding the alarm: the challenges to Europe's security, not least those represented by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the escalation between Israel and Iran in recent hours, confront the EU with the need to field a truly European defence. And to do so quickly. We are already behind schedule: the heightened global instability is a dramatic reality. But Europe, who has the last word in political choices, does not move, does not decide.
The opportunity to convey this message to politics was provided by the conference on common European defence organised by the Italiaprotagonista Foundation of senator and Forza Italia group leader in the Senate Maurizio Gasparri entitled 'European defence, our future'. The meeting, which took place in the Sala Kock of Palazzo Madama on Monday 15 April (with a welcome address by Senate President Ignazio La Russa), was attended by the very front lines of the Italian armed forces: Admiral Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto, Sub-Chief of Staff of the Navy; General Teo Luzi, General Commander of the Carabinieri; General Carmine Masiello, Chief of Staff of the Army; General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, Interforce Summit Operations Commander; General Luca Goretti, Chief of Staff of the Air Force; and Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone , Chief of the Defence Staff. The threat is real, and present. 'A new Iron Curtain is descending on Europe,' said Berutti Bergotto.
Sonuolo: 'At the European level we have been debating common security for seven decades...'
The speech by General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, Interforce Summit Operations Commander, started from a premise: 'At the European level, we have been debating common security for seven decades,' he recalled. 'The EU has become a large economic entity. Economic integration should have brought with it political integration, starting with the issues that most directly affect national interests. Defence is among them'. This has not happened. Not least because "a European defence requires common strategic objectives. European defence also means sharing the economic budget and industrial know-how. Although,' Figliuolo added, 'we must be in line with the times: economic resources are not enough to have capabilities; capabilities are built over time. Employment procedures and human resources must be prepared'. Hence the conclusion of the argument. Figliuolo resorts to a phrase by Luigi Einaudi: today 'the problem is between existing united or disappearing'.
Luzi: 'Without a European foreign policy there can be no common defence policy'
"I ask myself: what is the EU's policy on foreign issues?" asked General Teo Luzi, Commander General of the Carabinieri Corps. 'There is no common European policy, and without a common foreign policy there can be no European defence policy'. Luzi emphasised procurement: 'Today,' he said, '89 per cent of armaments are produced by individual states, for themselves. Certainly the figure of a European Defence Commissioner is a step forward, but not decisive'. To emphasise how European choices often hang by a thread, Luzi brought the example of the 'European Gendarmerie': for 18 years,' he explained, 'there has been a European command ready to be deployed in Vicenza: it is a common house of seven military-ordered police forces. It can operate in low-intensity missions abroad'. The request comes from international organisations (EU, NATO, UN, OSCE), subject to the green light from the states concerned. In addition to the Carabinieri, the French National Gendarmerie, the Spanish Guardia Civil, the Portuguese Guardia National Repubblicana, the Dutch Marecausussèe and the Romanian Jandarmeria are part of this team. 'Well,' Luzi recalled, 'in 18 years, this solution has never been activated...'.
Dragon: 'The EU must demonstrate cohesion and unity of purpose'
"I agree with the need to gradually develop European military capabilities, deployable under European aegis, complementary to NATO and capable of being effectively deployed where Community interests require it," Cavo Dragone emphasised in his speech. "International peace and stability has a global reach, and Europe must necessarily play a key role in this context," he added. Among the issues Cavo Dragone emphasised was 'the arc of instability that threatens energy supplies. If a gap is left, Russia and China are ready to fill it. Our commitment to international stability is bound to increase'. That is why 'European capabilities complementary to NATO must be developed. To deal with threats we need ready armed forces, properly trained. We need to share our resources,' he continued. 'We need an ad hoc Commissioner for European defence, who will deal with this matter exclusively. 'This is a complex path, extended over time,' stressed the Chief of Defence Staff. The EU must demonstrate cohesion and unity of purpose'.
