Here's how Meloni plans to reach 2 percent of GDP in Defense without spending more

* Researcher SDA Bocconi and London School of Economics and Political Science

Italy is preparing to reach, for the first time, the threshold of 2% of GDP in defense spending, a goal established within NATO and shared by all member countries since the Wales summit in 2014.

Yet, as often happens in the Italian debate, the news has generated polarized reactions: some cry out for militarization, some fear cuts to welfare, some speak of submission to external logic.

But this time the scenario is different. As stated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti , Italy does not intend to reach 2% through a net increase in spending, but through a review of the defense accounting perimeter , reclassifying in a more coherent and transparent way a series of items already present in the state budget.

This is a choice that, far from being an accounting expedient, reflects a more modern vision and one that is in line with the reality of national security in the 21st century.

A new concept of Defense

Defense today is no longer limited to the traditional military dimension. It is a complex system, which includes areas such as cybersecurity , the protection of critical infrastructures , border control, the fight against disinformation and energy resilience .

In all these sectors, the Italian State already invests significant resources, often with purposes entirely convergent with defensive ones.

Yet, many of these expenses are not currently included in the official calculations of defense spending, according to the more restrictive criteria adopted today. This is why expanding the perimeter of the defense budget is not a stretch, but a necessary update . It is an attempt to adapt the measurement to the complexity of contemporary threats.

Including, for example, Coast Guard operations for maritime security or funds for the protection of public computer systems among Defense spending is a perfectly sensible choice. This is not an accounting trick , but rather the recognition that national security now passes through many more directions than those once considered.

The meaning of 2%

The 2% GDP target is not a dogma. It is a political, not technical, threshold that indicates the minimum commitment that each country undertakes to contribute to collective security. For years, Italy has remained below this threshold: in 2023, spending stood at around 1.6%. Now, with a methodological review of the budget and without touching the major social chapters, the government intends to fill the gap.

This move represents?much more than a statistical adjustment. It is a political act with a precise meaning:? Italy is no longer a hesitant ally, but a reliable country, which takes its strategic responsibility seriously.

In a Europe where uncertainties are growing, and as the United States increasingly focuses on the Indo-Pacific scenario, assuming one's role in collective defense is not only desirable: it is necessary.

Furthermore, this choice is perfectly legitimate from the point of view of public accounting. Other European countries – including France, Germany and the Netherlands – have already adopted broader accounting criteria , which include all functions related to safety.

Italy is not cheating: it is simply updating its measurement tools in light of the new functions of the modern state. The adjustment, if conducted with transparency and rigor, can actually strengthen the legitimacy of the entire system.

Making visible expenditures that actually contribute to security – even if not labeled as “defense” in the strict sense – helps restore realism and coherence to the state budget.

But there is more: this operation is not only accounting, it is also ethical. Because ensuring collective security does not mean militarizing society , but defending the minimum prerequisites of freedom, stability and civil coexistence. In a world marked by hybrid wars, cyber attacks, migratory pressures and geopolitical competition, Defense is not a luxury. It is a condition.

Finally, this move also represents a political opportunity. At a time when Europe is discussing common defense and strategic autonomy, Italy has the opportunity to sit at the table as a protagonist, not as a spectator . Reaching 2% with rationality and without indiscriminate increases in spending means demonstrating that it is possible to reconcile rigor, efficiency and strategic vision.

It is not about investing in more weapons, but about putting the accounts in order and recognizing the value of existing capabilities.

It is a choice of institutional maturity and foresight, which can strengthen not only our position within NATO, but also the internal dialogue on what “national security” means today.

In a changing world, continuing to measure defense with tools from the past is a mistake. Italy is right, today, to review with transparency and intelligence the way in which it evaluates its contribution to collective security. 2% of GDP is no longer an accounting threshold to fear. It is a threshold of seriousness, a way of saying that Italy is ready to count, because it has learned to count well.