ROME, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Italy has decided to scale back its planned increase in defense spending for 2028 amid inflation and economic pressures, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Friday.
The adjustment was outlined in the Public Finance Planning Document, approved by the Italian cabinet on Friday. Under the plan, the extra spending planned for defense in 2028 was reduced to 0.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from the previously planned 0.6 percent, while that for 2027 remained unchanged at 0.3 percent.
The revision means Italy will spend about 8 billion euros (9.01 billion U.S. dollars) less on defense than previously planned, according to Defense Minister Guido Crosetto. He attributed the decision to the current economic situation, inflation and turbulence in sovereign bond markets.
NATO members have pledged to further increase defense spending. At the alliance's summit in The Hague in 2025, member states agreed to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035.
