Overview
- On Friday in Verona, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said recent incidents across Europe — including a plasma event in France, fake bomb alerts on planes, and tampering with refrigeration that affected food and blood supplies — show civilian infrastructure is under attack.
- Meloni argued those incidents justify raising defence and security outlays because the systems that protected blood supplies and food chains cost money and act to safeguard daily life.
- She told reporters investigators are working but that it is not yet possible to say whether the various episodes are connected, and authorities have shared no confirmed attribution.
- Meloni defended her government’s fiscal line and Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, rejecting the claim that increased defence spending must come at the expense of healthcare.
- Analysts and officials warn the government push could reshape the 2026–27 manovra debate, affect tourism and public confidence if alerts continue, and build on a prior trend of higher defence allocations in Italy.