PADUA (Realist English). Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto delivered a stark assessment of NATO and the European Union on Friday, claiming both have lost relevance in a world no longer centered on Western power. Speaking at a conference in Padua, Crosetto told reporters that “NATO, as it is, no longer has a reason to exist,” and that the EU and UN “no longer count” on the global stage.
His remarks, first reported by ANSA, come just days ahead of a NATO leaders’ summit in The Hague, where alliance members are expected to endorse a significantly higher defense spending target — reportedly up to 5% of GDP — in an effort to address demands from U.S. President Donald Trump.
“We talk as if we’re still living 30 years ago, but everything has changed,” Crosetto said, lamenting the West’s failure to adapt. “The U.S. and Europe were once the center of the world — now we must build relations with everything else.”
The Italian defense chief argued that NATO has strayed from its founding purpose of guaranteeing peace and collective security. If it wants to remain relevant, he said, it must evolve into an organization capable of engaging with the Global South and addressing the broader dynamics of a multipolar world.
His comments stand in contrast to the official position of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who recently reaffirmed Italy’s commitment to NATO and support for Ukraine in a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Rome. Italy has also pledged to meet NATO’s current 2% GDP defense spending benchmark this year — a level it has historically struggled to reach.
Crosetto also delivered a sweeping critique of the EU and the United Nations, saying both institutions had failed to assert strategic or political relevance in the new global order.
“We speak of Europe as if it mattered. Maybe it could have mattered — if it had equipped itself with foreign policy or defense instruments. But it didn’t. That time is over,” he said. “The UN counts as much as Europe: nothing. Less than a national football team, less than China, India, or Israel.”
Crosetto’s blunt remarks reflect growing divisions within Italy over defense priorities and NATO’s role. Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is organizing an anti-NATO event in The Hague on June 24, one day before the official summit opens.
