(Finance) – “What is the cost that the war in Ukraine has so far imposed on Italian taxpayers both in terms of economic and military support’. With an open letter to the Prime Minister Meloni and to the Ministers of Economy, Giorgetti and Defence, Crosetto, Federcontribuenti ”on behalf of the Italian citizens who support the work of the State with their contributions” he asks the representatives of the Institutions, recalling how the Italian Constitution, ”in its pacifist spirit and promotion of international justice, expressly prohibits Italy’s participation in armed conflicts, except in cases of self-defense.”
However, the ‘open letter’ states: ”despite this constitutional precept, Our country has provided weapons and logistical support to Ukraine. A contribution that appears to be in clear contradiction with the fundamental principles of our Republic and raises crucial questions: why has Italy decided to militarily support a country that, according to Italian law, could not use such weapons?”.
Even more worrying is the fact, writes the consumers’ association, “that the Italian taxpayer is called upon to to support financially military operations and the Ukrainian counteroffensive, even in the case of the entry into Russian territory at Kursk”. In this sense, we cannot accept, Federcontribuenti reminds us, the response provided last March 21st by the President of the Councilaccording to which Italy’s military support to Ukraine would not represent a cost for the state coffers. ”This statement – it is underlined in the ‘open letter’ – has been denied by authoritative sources such as Mil€X, the independent Observatory on Italian military spending, which he estimated a cost of around one billion euros for weapons sent to Ukraine. This calculation is based on the most recent announcements regarding the increase in funds from the European Peace Facility (EPF), an ‘off-budget’ financial instrument to support European international military initiatives, in addition to the assessments already carried out by the same observatory on the first six shipments of Italian armaments”. As the first association of Italian taxpayers, ”we ask that clear and transparent answers on this delicate issue. In particular, we ask to know what has been, up to now, the exact amount of economic and military resources that Italy has allocated to the conflict in Ukraine”.
In the end, Federcontribuenti appeals to the Guarantor, monocratic body that reports to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, established in each region with the task of protecting the rights of the taxpayer and ensuring a relationship of trust between citizens and the Financial Administration: ”We ask that an investigation be launched to verify the legitimacy of the expenses incurred and to ensure that the rights of Italian taxpayers are adequately protected”.