Ministero della Difesa

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"Recently we've been hearing about new tragedies and warnings almost every day; the new defence and security themes require renewed attention from the Trans-Atlantic Alliance", Defence Minister  Roberta Pinotti underscored during her speech before the Joint Defence-Foreign Affairs Senate and House of Deputies Committee, adding that  "Today we're talking about a 360° challenge, not only about the emergency on the eastern flank of the Alliance: a step forward which re-draws NATO's orientation toward a global challenge".

The decision –based on an Italian proposal- to transform  NATO "Active Endeavour" Operation  into Operation Sea Guardian, aimed at meeting current requirements in countering the new threats, falls within this context. The original mandate of "Active Endeavour" -established in the aftermath of 9/11- was limited to countering weapons' trafficking in the Mediterranean.

NATO, therefore, will maintain a continued military presence in the Mediterranean while effectively cooperating, when needed, with EU Mission Sophia, which will soon proceed to the next phase, including training the naval components of the Libyan Security Forces as well as countering the violations of  the arms embargo.

"Italy can rightly claim this result as its own – the Minister pointed out- because, last sping, it had called for  stronger cooperation between NATO and the EU", and submitted a specific proposal for a political-strategic coordination mechanism for the Mediterranean area.

"While we continue to fight Isis militarily, we must also be able to counter its policy, its narrative and its recruitment initiatives by engaging moderate Islamic countries in our fight".

The latter element is linked to data on Daesh propaganda on the web provided in Washington by  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry: one year ago it was very strong, now "…anti-Daesh content on the internet  far exceeds pro-Daesh content".

Broadening her analysis to Afghanistan, the Minister stated that "…the last, terrible attack conducted by Isis against the Hazara minority last Saturday has confirmed our fears that the presence of the caliphate, as well as Talibans, could increase instability in the country. However, it has also confirmed that we were right in  deciding to go on  supporting the Afghan Security Force in a more structured manner".

As regards Libya, Italy – as confirmed during  the recent meeting with Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Al-Majabiri – will commit itself to ensure a more structured and diversified medical assistance for seriously wounded personnel, which will also include a training programme aimed at broadening Libyan first aid military capabilities, in line with Libyan requests.

As for the eastern flank, in Warsaw NATO has decided to deploy, on a rotational basis, a Multinational Battalion in every Baltic country and in Poland. "The Government has declared its availability to contribute to these multinational units", the Minister explained, adding that this will entail "…the full engagement of the Parliament when it comes to deciding the size, duration and burden implied in our participation".

Furthermore, Minister Pinotti has underscored the willingness to keep an open dialogue with Russia, a fundamental partner for European security  and in the fight against terrorism. Italy, in brief, plays an important role within NATO. And, as it was recognized  also in Warsaw, even if it remains under the 2% GDP threshold established for defence expenditure, it was able to achieve a higher security "production" as compared to other countries, even some of those with  higher defence expenditures.