Introduction

This NATO Summit, which has now come to a close (is actually being brought to a close as we speak with the press conference by Secretary General Stoltenberg), was clearly not like the others. Over the last year and a half, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the domino effect of consequences caused by the conflict have called many of our certainties into question. However, it must be said that, in this world of increasing uncertainty, this Summit has managed to reaffirm one of the certainties we have had during this period: the unity of the Atlantic Alliance and the determination of all allies to defend their values and the rules of international law, without which none of us would be safe. Defending international law and defending common security is also our best way of defending the security of our citizens.

I wish to offer my congratulations to the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, with whom I will be having a bilateral meeting shortly – the last of my commitments at this NATO Summit. I also wish to congratulate Secretary General Stoltenberg, also on the extension of his mandate, which clearly reflects the current exceptional circumstances, but also his steadfast and certainly balanced leadership at this difficult time.

As we were saying, at this historic, exceptional moment in time, this Summit had to make decisions on deterrence and defence that are able to address this period, with measures including new regional defence plans, and the relative forces being in a state of maximum preparedness. Italy has supported, and supports, the ongoing adaptations, as can be seen by the important contributions it offers along the entire eastern flank and in the Mediterranean, which were also called for, in the sense that we called for the role in the Alliance, we called for the attention that is currently being paid especially to the eastern flank, but we have also asked for greater attention to be paid to the southern flank. We live in a world in which everything is interconnected, and everything that happens also has repercussions in other areas. To be clear, the war in Ukraine has had heavy repercussions above all in developing countries: I am thinking of Africa, and I am mentioning Africa again not because the Italian Government has a fixation but simply because this is one of the areas where the consequences of the Ukraine conflict are most visible, every day. Those consequences create factors of major instability; regarding that instability, there are external aggravators and we are continuing to see an advance of fundamentalism, all of which inevitably has an impact on us, and has an impact on Europe. We are particularly sensitive because we are obviously the closest neighbours. In such an interconnected world, we are living in a context in which we need the ability to see the overall ‘chessboard’; we live in a world in which wars are increasingly hybrid and we have to take these factors into account.

When we used to talk about defence, it was enough to focus on our own traditional defence sectors; then we gradually added cybersecurity, then space, the sea, the seabed. Today, we often find ourselves talking about the so-called ‘sixth domain’, which regards systematic misinformation in an attempt to influence public opinion. The position that Italy brought, one of the positions that Italy brought, to this discussion is that the Alliance’s approach must genuinely be a comprehensive one, both in geostrategic terms and with regard to the elements needed to guarantee domains for ensuring the security of our citizens.
Today, we spoke with our Indo-Pacific partners, about China for example. However, talking about a systemic rival such as China without bearing in mind the issue of supply chains, without bearing in mind the issue of controlling critical raw materials, would be like playing a game of chess and moving the queen without realising there is a bishop on the other side of the board ready to pounce; an increasingly comprehensive approach is therefore needed.
Clearly, for us, the issue of relations and dialogue with countries of the Global South, of non-predatory cooperation with these countries, the issue of supply chains, of controlling strategic supply chains, and indeed the issue of protecting a technological advantage in the field of defence, which the Alliance has always had, are all key aspects we need to work on, and that we need to work on together. It is indeed also important to continue investing to strengthen our defence industry and capabilities. It is obvious, and we all agree, that our freedom has a cost, and it is worth reminding those who would like us to demobilise of that, because what is invested in defence comes back tenfold, a hundredfold, in terms of our ability to defend our national interests, and those who say that we must demobilise at the same time as denouncing certain interferences have to understand that those two things do not go together. We want to be a nation and we believe that Europe and our partners must be able to defend their national interests as much as possible, and this is also done through the ability we have to defend ourselves; this, however, is not just a matter of numbers. For us, it is not just a matter of numbers; another issue that we have brought to the attention of our NATO partners: as Italy, we have always done our part and we will continue to do our part, but we believe that within the commitment, for example, to spend 2% of GDP on defence, developments and sustainability must be taken into account, as indeed must the responsibility taken on by each ally and their involvement in how the alliance works. I am saying that as President of the Council of Ministers of a nation that, with its almost 3,000 troops, is the main contributor in terms of presence in peacekeeping missions, in Atlantic Alliance missions abroad, and I think this should be recognised.

Ukraine was obviously discussed a lot and, today, we have launched the new and important NATO-Ukraine Council, with President Zelensky in attendance. President Zelensky gave us an update and we are continuing to work to foster conditions for a negotiation process that can lead to a just peace, a lasting peace, a global peace. As we see it, reaching a peace would clearly be much more difficult without adequate security guarantees, since, as we know, in the past Russia has very often violated the pacts it has signed. The issue of security guarantees for Ukraine is therefore also a step towards fostering a peace process. As Italy, we have worked, and are working, to offer these guarantees and we were among the countries at the forefront of supporting Ukraine joining the European Union.
Some very important and concrete steps forward were taken at this Summit for Ukraine’s future accession to NATO. As I was saying, the NATO-Ukraine Council has been created as a main forum for consultation and the decision-making process; a multi-year practical support package has been launched – the Comprehensive Assistance Package; the process to join the Atlantic Alliance has been streamlined, while reiterating that Ukraine will become part of NATO when the conditions so allow.

Staying on the topic of Ukraine, in the margins of the NATO Summit, you will have seen that a joint declaration has also been signed by the G7 leaders, which is a plurilateral framework for a network of bilateral agreements to strengthen Ukraine. This is important for us because, as you know, we will be hosting the G7 next year and, as part of that, we obviously intend to play a leading role also with regard to reconstruction. You have seen this in the past, with the conferences that the Italian Government has organised. As I have already said and shall say again, I believe that working on Ukraine’s reconstruction is also a way to bet on its victory, a way to bet on a future of peace, freedom and well-being and a Euro-Atlantic future for this nation under attack.

As I was saying, member countries also held an extended session with the four Indo-Pacific partners and the European institutions. Also here, the strategic partnership between NATO and the European Union is key to reaching common objectives; these organisations must not compete with each other, but complement each other. Complementarity is also crucial when it comes to strategies, because if, for example, as NATO we decide to strengthen our defence industry, it is obvious that when we in Europe, in the European Union, then deal with our governance rules, the future rules regarding our investments, we must take into account investments for choices that together we have deemed strategic, in the deficit-to-GDP ratio for example.

In the margins of the NATO Summit and G7 initiative, I have also had a number of meetings, pull asides and bilaterals. As I was saying, I’ll now be seeing the Prime Minister of Lithuania. I met with President Erdoğan, with whom we spoke a lot about the Mediterranean, energy, migration and peace with regard to the conflict. I also spoke with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and with President Biden, who invited me to the White House on 27 July. So, there were also many bilateral meetings during this important Summit.

Overall I am satisfied with the signal that the Atlantic Alliance has given in the last few days, which is a signal of compactness: I believe this is the most valuable thing we have in this phase. This work has obviously taken a lot of time, and has sometimes been difficult, but I believe we are all very satisfied and I also believe that Italy can be satisfied with the contribution it has made, both to the drawing up of the numerous documents, the conclusions, and of course to the discussions during these days.

[Courtesy translation]