Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Thursday that it is impossible for Italy to spend 5% of GDP on defence after United States President Donald Trump called for NATO countries to lift expenditure to this threshold.
"We must invest more in defence, which does not make us warmongers", Tajani told a conference in the Senate on transatlantic relations.
"But it is impossible to reach 5% of GDP. We are making a great effort to reach 2%".
The minister added that it was "essential" for defence spending to be excluded from deficit calculations for the EU Stability and Growth Pact.
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