Italy’s premier argued that in the same way that the stability agreement exempts defense expenditures from its calculation, energy-related costs should similarly not be taken into account. “We must have the political courage to recognize that today energy security is also a European strategic priority,” she insisted.
Meloni added Rome would struggle to justify participation in the EU’s SAFE defense financing program if Brussels refuses similar flexibility for energy spending. Italy wants the bloc’s existing “national safeguard clause” — currently tied to defense investment — temporarily expanded to cover emergency energy measures as well.
The Italian prime minister’s appeal comes at a fiscally fraught moment for Meloni. Last month the EU’s statistical body confirmed Rome’s 2025 budget deficit breached Brussels’ fiscal rules. The news came on the back of a major defeat for Meloni in a justice referendum, and will likely oblige the Italian government to limit expenditures ahead of a delicate election year, with her center-right coalition polling neck and neck with its center-left rivals.
Since the Iran war erupted on Feb. 28 following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, Europe has been hit by skyrocketing energy prices and mounting concerns regarding gas supplies, refinery disruptions and dwindling jet fuel stocks. Around 20 percent of global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
But Brussels has so far resisted calls to enact major policy changes to tackle the crisis. Earlier this year the Commission rebuffed Austria, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain’s request to impose a windfall tax on energy companies reaping profits from the war in Iran. On Sunday it similarly indicated a reluctance to give in to Meloni’s request.
In a statement to Italian media, Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said the EU had already presented governments with “a range of options” to manage the crisis. He additionally stressed the bloc was “not including the National Safeguard Clause among these options” because it wanted to remain within “a framework of fiscally responsible constraints.”