Supreme Defence Council

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The Supreme Defence Council met today at the Quirinale Palace under the chairmanship of President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. The meeting was attended by President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni; Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani; Defence Minister Guido Crosetto; Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti; Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso and Chief of Defence Staff Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone.
Undersecretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Alfredo Mantovano; Secretary General for the Presidency of the Republic Ugo Zampetti and Adviser to the President of the Republic for Supreme Defence Council Affairs Francesco Saverio Garofani were also present.
The President of the Council of Ministers illustrated the outcomes of the Vilnius NATO Summit. Subsequently, the Council discussed the situation in Ukraine, reiterating the strong condemnation of the Russian aggression and our support for Ukraine's defence from the aggression, respect of its freedom, democratic sovereignty, territorial integrity and the independence of States, i.e. the founding principles of the European Union and essential conditions to guarantee the international order and peaceful co-existence of peoples.

The Council also agreed on the importance to request that maximum attention be granted to initiatives aimed to identify paths to promote dialogue between the parties, in order to achieve a fair and durable peace, in compliance with international law.

Then, the Council reviewed the situation in other areas of crisis, especially those where Italy is present with its Armed Forces within the framework of out-of-area missions. Rapid changes on the international scenario and the resulting developments regarding political and strategic relations among Countries and International Organizations were also discussed.
The Enlarged Mediterranean was the focus of Council's discussions, based on its strategic relevance and, above all, the uncertainties that, at different levels, characterize various regions.
The Central Mediterranean route, characterized by migrants' flows originating mainly from the Libyan and Tunisian coastlines, confirmed to be the main route for irregular migrants arriving in Italy from the sea.
Hence, Italy's strong requests to the European Union and NATO to focus on Africa were underscored. In fact, lacking a political, social and economic consolidation in that continent, it will be impossible to guarantee the security of EU Member Countries which, in their turn, are a fundamental part of the North Atlantic Alliance. 
The effectiveness of the Armed Forces was then assessed by the Council. Measures– also with regard to the national industrial policy for the defence sector-  required to ensure the appropriate level of readiness and ability, allowing the military to meet their main task, i.e. defending the Republic, were deepened also in terms of sustainability over time. 
The Minister of Defence  illustrated the guidelines for the future reorganization of the ministerial structure,  and the need to ensure appropriate funds for the military in line with the requirements defined by the Atlantic Alliance within a joint force perspective. The latter focuses on military and civilian personnel,  the ability to work in all domains, including new ones such as outer space, cognitive space and underwater space.
Finally, it was reiterated that, both within the current and future international scenario, defence and security must be considered as a common objective for the institutions of the Republic, based on a national security strategy developed by the Government and endorsed by the Parliament.