US Pushes Back on Italy Counting Sicily Bridge as NATO Asset

The US said it disapproves of any creative accounting by European allies to reach a new NATO spending target, putting Italy on the spot as the government weighs whether to count the construction of the world’s longest suspension bridge as military expenditure.

Along with other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Italy committed to raising defense spending to 5% of GDP, satisfying a demand by US President Donald Trump, at a June summit in The Hague. The pledge prompted questions over whether a debt-saddled and stagnant economy can pull it off. It also drew scrutiny to an idea that a €13.5 billion ($15.7 billion) project connecting the island of Sicily to Italy’s mainland could be paid for by classifying it as defense-related.