Hearing of Minister Crosetto at the Senate

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The Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, intervened today in a hearing at the Senate as part of the examination of the Multi-Year Defense Program Document for the 2025-2027 period.

"Defense is not only built on equipment, technologies, and investments; its strength lies primarily in the women and men who serve every day with dedication, competence, and courage. This is why we invest in training, education, infrastructure, and in the physical and psychological recovery of personnel and their families. We want those who serve the State to feel part of a community and a shared project," stated Minister Crosetto during his speech at the joint committees hearing – Senate 3rd Committee (Foreign Affairs and Defense) and Chamber IV (Defense) – on the Multi-Year Defense Program Document for the 2025-2027 period.

"There is an entire system of rules," he continued, "that today affects the activity of military personnel and that, quite simply, is no longer compatible with what military personnel need to do. We need fully professional Armed Forces, men and women who can carry out the tasks for which they have been trained. Missions abroad have a clear purpose: to create security conditions that allow for development and peace. Our contingents are not a symbol; they are a concrete tool for stability. Military personnel must be able to do their jobs. And for this, we must support them, strengthen them, and make them part of a more effective system. This is one of the issues I will bring to Parliament. Because this change requires genuine consensus. Parliament must engage, understand it, and listen not only to the Minister or the Undersecretaries but, most importantly, to those who live the operational terrain every day. They will be the ones to explain why certain rules don’t work."

In conclusion, the Minister emphasized: "Investing in Defense does not only mean military investment: security is, directly or indirectly, a fundamental driver for national economic growth. Italy is a leader in key sectors such as aerospace, naval, and underwater industries. Defense industries can be put at the service of the community not only in emergencies but also in everyday life, according to the principle of dual-use."