The discussion gained new momentum after remarks by Italian MoD Guido Crosetto, a senior figure in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, who argued that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union remains “very difficult.” Yet he also outlined a broader European defense framework that would include Kyiv, offering a different route toward integration.
The episode provides a snapshot of how Italy’s political forces are approaching one of the EU’s most consequential long-term questions: what place Ukraine should occupy in Europe’s political and security architecture once the war ends.
Why it matters: Italy is among Ukraine’s key political supporters within the EU and NATO. But the debate is shifting from military assistance to questions of postwar integration.
- Political divisions cut across traditional alignments.
- The discussion touches on wider issues, including EU enlargement, agriculture, defense and relations with the Western Balkans.
What Crosetto said: Speaking after a security forum in Singapore, Crosetto argued that Ukraine’s path to EU membership faces substantial obstacles.
- “Everyone knows, including the Germans, that it is very difficult,” he said in an interview with Corriere della Sera, citing concerns linked to Ukraine’s size and economic structure, particularly its impact on European agriculture.
Yes but… The defense minister nonetheless rejected the idea that Ukraine should remain outside European structures.
- Instead, he proposed building “a large common European defense system” extending beyond the EU’s current borders and including the United Kingdom, Norway, the Western Balkans and Ukraine.
- Such a framework, he argued, could help guarantee security and deterrence after a future ceasefire.
The political reactions: The strongest criticism came from parties and politicians that support Ukraine’s eventual accession to the EU.
- Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein reaffirmed that Ukraine should be allowed to pursue membership through the same accession process applied to other candidate countries, including those in the Western Balkans.
- According to Schlein, enlargement should depend on meeting established criteria rather than political considerations.
- Centrist and liberal politicians adopted a similar position, arguing that Ukraine’s European trajectory is both a strategic and political choice for the Union.
- For these parties, Crosetto’s remarks risked sending a mixed signal on a process that Brussels has formally opened and that Italy has broadly supported.
Conte’s different argument: Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Five Star Movement, approached the issue from a different angle.
- Rather than focusing on the merits of enlargement, Conte argued that discussing accession while the war continues risks putting the debate in the wrong sequence. His position has been that efforts should concentrate on securing a ceasefire and a negotiated end to the conflict before addressing membership questions.
- The distinction matters because it reflects the Five Star Movement’s broader approach to Ukraine, which has generally been more cautious about military support than most other major parties.
- Critics of the party have often portrayed those positions as less aligned with the transatlantic consensus and more accommodating toward Russia, a characterization that Five Star leaders reject.
Not a simple government-opposition divide. The debate also revealed differences within Italy’s governing coalition.
- League leader and deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has repeatedly expressed skepticism about Ukraine joining the EU, reflecting concerns shared by parts of his party regarding the economic consequences of enlargement.
- At the same time, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, leader of Forza Italia and another deputy Prime Minister, has consistently linked the Ukraine dossier to the broader enlargement process, stressing Italy’s support for the accession ambitions of the Western Balkans and warning against creating separate tracks for candidate countries.
Between the lines: Crosetto’s intervention suggests that a new distinction may be emerging in parts of the Italian debate.
- The question is no longer simply whether Ukraine should be integrated into Europe, but through which mechanism and on what timeline. That is where his proposal intersects with ideas circulating elsewhere in Europe.
- EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius has similarly argued that Ukraine’s integration into European defense structures could advance even if accession to NATO or the EU remains a longer-term process.
- The proposals differ in scope and design, but both reflect growing interest in security integration as a complement — or precursor — to institutional enlargement.
The big picture: For much of the war, Italy’s political debate focused on sanctions, weapons deliveries and relations with Russia. As the conflict drags on, attention is increasingly turning to what comes next.
- The current debate in Italy revealed a political landscape in which support for Kyiv remains broad, while consensus on the form and timing of its integration into European institutions is far less settled.
- The differing positions also reflect the political calculations already beginning to shape the country’s debate ahead of next year’s general election.
