Italy’s New Defence Plan: Nuclear Readiness Exercises, New German Tanks and Billions in Expenditures

The commitment of Prime Minister Meloni to military spending became tangible after the Defence Ministry released, with an unusual delay of six months, its budget projections for 2023-2025. Integrated expenditures for defence are set to reach an all-time high of €31.4 billion in 2025, a €2 billion increase from 2022. Italian expenses for procurement are expected to rise by 43% in the next two years, with €4.6 billion allocated to thirteen new military programmes.

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Digital Resilience. A New Contribution Agreement Between the EU Commission and ESA for the EU Connectivity Programme.

The EU Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) have just signed a Contribution Agreement as part of the EU Secure Connectivity Programme. Established in the first trimester of 2023, the EU Secure Connectivity Programme provides for the creation of Iris2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite), promoting digital autonomy and strategic relevance for the EU. 

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Towards A New Era Of European Defence: The First-Ever EU Live Military Exercises.

“Today we are creating a new page for European defence”, declared Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on the first-ever EU live military exercises (MILEX) that are taking place in the Rota Naval base in Southern Spain this week (Euronews, 2023).

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Towards the Implementation of the European Defence Industry Reinforcement Through Common Procurement Act (EDIRPA)

On October 9, the Council of the EU adopted a regulation establishing an instrument that further paves the way for the entry into force of the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through Common Procurement Act (EDIRPA). This new instrument involves a €300 million budget that provides partial reimbursement to Member States jointly purchasing capabilities through consortia of at least three Members. Further conditions are set out for EDIRPA. Contractors and subcontractors must be established and must have their executive management structure in the EU or in an associated country. Moreover, at least 65 percent of the end products’ components must originate from the EU or an associated country.

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EU Divided on Status of Palestine Aid Following Hamas Attack on Israel

On October 7, Hamas launched a massive surprise attack on Israel (see Clarke, 2023). The Commission’s response so far has been a rare display of internal disunity, as Commissioner Várhelyi (2023a; 2023b) announced on October 9 that the EU would review and immediately suspend all aid to Palestine only for Commissioner Lenarčič (2023) to contradict him, saying that humanitarian aid would continue for as long as needed. Later, on October 9, the European Commission issued a statement confirming that it will not suspend aid, but that it is launching an urgent aid review (2023).

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