«We have decided to use Safe (the EU tool that provides states with loans at favorable rates to increase investments in the defense sector, editor’s note) requesting an intervention of 14.9 billion by the end of the year, we will formulate our proposal, then Honorable Crosetto will say how to invest it in the following year.» This was said by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani during the debate following the briefing on the outcomes of the NATO Summit in Ankara given with Defense Minister Guido Crosetto to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees of the Chamber and Senate.
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The clarification: we decide at the end of the year
Soon after, however, Tajani clarified: «Regarding Safe, we have booked 14.9 billion, how much we will use will be decided at the end of the year, probably less, as Crosetto said maybe six-seven-eight or nine, it’s not that we said we will use 14.9, we said “that is the maximum we might need, then how much we will use we will decide, probably less”».
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EU: on Safe funds Italy must clarify, there is no time to lose
The European Commission asks for clarifications: «In the ideal situation, we definitely want Italy to keep the 14.9 billion of Safe as announced today, and this is a very, very positive development. Now, we need to proceed with signing the loan agreement because we have to disburse the funds to start the project. So this is the timing we are considering» says a Brussels spokesperson, explaining that «clarity is needed as soon as possible». «If anything should change at the funding level, then we would be in an even more urgent situation because those funds would need to be reallocated. There is no time to lose».
Crosetto: alternative to BoT, we will evaluate how much to use
For his part, Defense Minister Crosetto explained in a hearing that the Safe program «as it has been set up is a tool for financing military expenditure, not additional to what is planned in the budget. So in Italy Safe is an alternative to the BoT. It is a totally technical choice that the minister will make by the end of the year: regarding the 14.9 billion mentioned earlier by Minister Tajani, we will evaluate how much to use technically as an alternative to BoTs and CcTs, from the point of view of financial convenience». «The political choice – he added – will be the budget deviation».
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