Italy defers NATO defence spending goal to 2028 in coalition compromise

FILE PHOTO: New Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi holds the cabinet minister bell next to outgoing Premier Giuseppe Conte, during the handover ceremony at Chigi Palace Premier's office, in Rome, Italy February 13, 2021. Andrew Medichini/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - Italy will only hit the NATO goal of spending 2% of GDP on defence in 2028, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Thursday, confirming it will miss an original target of 2024 after opposition from within his ruling coalition.

The government currently earmarks around 1.4% of economic output for military spending and would have had to increase its defence budget by 12 billion euros ($13.4 billion) over the next two years to reach a goal established by members of the Atlantic alliance in 2014.