In a creative rather than practical way, Italy appears to be considering meeting the new 5% defence spending target by 2035, as decided at the recent NATO Summit.

As Politico reports, Italian politicians, called upon to keep their commitments, are considering classifying the pharaonic project of building a bridge to Sicily as military spending, for €13.5 billion.

Rome is one of the countries with the lowest military spending in NATO, as it gave just 1.49% of its GDP for defence spending in 2024. This makes the new target of 5% by 2035 unachievable.

However, the bridge could turn the situation around on a logistical level. The Georgia Meloni government seems keen to go ahead with the opening of the Strait of Messina, building the world’s longest suspension bridge. This project was a dream of the Romans, dictator Benito Mussolini and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

What Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini say

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Infrastructure Minister Mateo Salvini – both also vice presidents of the government – say the bridge is of strategic value to NATO, a point highlighted in a government report in April.

A government official noted that no formal decision has been made to designate the bridge as a security project. However, more discussions will likely be held soon to “see how feasible this is.” The idea could be politically useful for the Italian prime minister as she tries to convince an anti-war public of the need for big defence spending at a time when Italy is already heading towards austerity.

There are some clear reasons why Italy could justify building the bridge. Of the 5% of GDP that is NATO’s new target, only 3.5% should go to defence spending. The other 1.5% can be allocated for spending on broader strategic strengths such as infrastructure.

An Italian Finance Ministry official also suggested that designating the bridge as a military project would help the government overcome some of the financial and technical obstacles that have prevented its construction in the past.

The problems in building the bridge

The construction of a major road and rail bridge 3.3 kilometres long linking mainland Italy to Sicily is a decades-old idea that has been on the minds of many Italian governments. Despite studies, plans, and even tenders, the project has not materialised. Technically ambitious and financially costly, the project is also causing opposition due to environmental and seismological risks.

By including the project in defense spending, Italy could “bypass bureaucratic hurdles and disputes with local authorities, who could take legal action claiming the bridge would cause disproportionate damage to their land,” the finance ministry official said. It would also “make it easier to raise funds, especially next year, for the bridge.”

Italy has also requested that the project be included in the EU funding plan, as it believes the bridge will allow for the rapid transport of heavy vehicles, troops, and resources by road as well as rail.

However, one issue is whether NATO and, of course, US President Donald Trump, who supports major construction projects, will accept Rome’s rationale.

The Strait of Messina is outside the only designated NATO military mobility corridor in Italy. It is also not clear whether it is included in the EU’s military mobility network, where corridors, it is expected, will be aligned with those of NATO.

So far, the Americans are not putting their cards on the table, since in The Hague, they laughed but did not give an immediate answer.

The project has also met with opposition in Italy, with Five Star Movement MEP Giuseppe Addozzi declaring it a “bluff”.

A bridge in the middle of an inefficient transport system

One of the arguments against the project is that it would link two of the poorest regions of Italy, Sicily and Calabria, which have inefficient transport systems, with many arguing that investment in local roads and railways is urgently needed.

“The population of Sicily and Calabria suffers from inadequate water infrastructure, transport that moves at a snail’s pace, potholed roads, and third-class hospitals. The bridge over the strait, therefore, cannot be a priority,” Andozzi said.

However, the ruling coalition is determined to go ahead. On Tuesday, Salvini said final approval of the project is expected in July. For his part, Tagliani suggested that the bridge be named after Berlusconi.