Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers a speech at a ceremony in Brenner, on the border between Austria and Italy, on Sept. 18, 2025. (Credit: Johann Groder/AFP)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday said her current priority was to restrain inflationary pressures on prices, especially energy, given the impact from the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
In a press conference, the far-right leader was asked whether measures to reduce the impact of price rises from the war in the Middle East might cut into planned spending on defense.
"Without shirking my responsibilities on the issue of defense... I now have to give priority to what is happening at the economic level," said Meloni, adding that defense spending remained an "absolute priority."
"In the current context of international crisis we're facing, the issue of keeping prices and energy under control, of preventing an inflationary impact that clearly crushes GDP growth, has to be considered a step forward," she said.
