Italy's Strait Bridge Becomes NATO Defense Spending Workaround

Italy is leveraging a planned bridge across the Strait of Messina—a project conceived over two millennia ago—as a means to meet NATO's new defense spending targets, according to CNN. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government is classifying the infrastructure project as a defense investment, allowing Rome to count it toward the alliance's requirement that European members spend the equivalent of 5% of their gross domestic product on military capabilities by 2035, up from the current 2%.

The move reflects the tension across Europe as President Donald Trump has enforced stricter defense spending benchmarks on NATO allies. The Strait crossing, which would connect Sicily to mainland Italy, represents one of the world's longest bridge spans and carries enormous symbolic weight for Italian infrastructure ambitions. By categorizing it as defense-related, Italy can credit the project's substantial cost toward compliance with Trump's military spending pressure while advancing a longstanding domestic priority.