Giorgia Meloni’s government on Wednesday was set to approve the construction of a €13bn bridge linking Sicily to the Italian mainland, resurrecting a controversial project that Rome now says is key for national security.
Originally designed to spur economic development in one of Italy’s poorest regions, the 3.3km-long suspension bridge over the Messina Strait has had several false starts in recent decades. But the Italian government has now recast the project as a way for the country to help meet its Nato commitment to boost military spending.
Like all Nato allies, Italy has pledged to increase annual defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP within a decade, of which 1.5 per cent of GDP is earmarked for strategic infrastructure.
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