Italy’s government has agreed in principle to reduce the amount of additional fiscal room it would use for defense and other costs under the European Union’s National Escape Clause, cutting the figure to about €14 billion from an earlier estimate of €21 billion to €22 billion, Defense News reported.

The change emerged at a Cabinet meeting this week after Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini pushed for the lower figure. The reduction could amount to as much as €8 billion. A government source told Defense News that the reduction had been agreed but was not yet final.

The National Escape Clause allows European Union member states to exclude a portion of defense spending from annual deficit calculations for several years. The arrangement is intended to give governments more scope to increase defense outlays while remaining within the bloc’s deficit rules.

Italy’s government had promoted the mechanism before the European Union approved it. After approval, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the additional fiscal room would be used not only for defense but also to help cover Italy’s rising fuel costs. The Cabinet’s decision changes the amount associated with that plan, although the reported figure concerns Italy’s expected defense windfall under the clause rather than the total amount available through the EU mechanism.

The decision comes amid a political dispute over defense spending and Italy’s support for Ukraine. Salvini, who leads the League party in Meloni’s governing coalition, has opposed increases in defense spending and military support for Ukraine. He has also called for an agreement with Moscow to end the war.

Meloni has maintained a different position. She supports Kyiv and Europe’s tougher stance toward Russia. Her government has also committed Italy to NATO’s target of spending 5% of gross domestic product on defense and related security. Meloni has said Italy reached 2.8% this year when domestic security spending is included, but the detailed breakdown for the year’s budget has not been published.

The dispute extends beyond the governing coalition. Roberto Vannacci, a political challenger on Meloni’s right, has called for an end to sanctions on Russia. The Five Star party has blamed the war on what it describes as a “war mongering Europe.” A poll of Five Star members this month found that more than 90% opposed European rearmament and believed weapons shipments to Ukraine were prolonging the conflict, according to Defense News.

The National Escape Clause decision is one of two funding questions cited by an Italian defense analyst as requiring action. Alessandro Marrone, who heads the Defence Security and Space Programme at Rome’s IAI think tank, said the government needed to decide how it would use the clause and the European Union’s SAFE defense-loan program. He said those decisions were important for the Defense Ministry’s planning.

Marrone also pointed to Italy’s NATO obligations, possible gaps in Europe created by U.S. withdrawals and Italy’s stated interest in sending naval vessels to protect shipping in the Red Sea. Those issues form part of the wider defense-planning context surrounding the Cabinet decision.

The government’s revised figure remains subject to final confirmation. Until it is finalized, the size of Italy’s planned use of the National Escape Clause will remain unsettled. The reported change, however, sets the current figure at roughly €14 billion, compared with the earlier estimate of €21 billion to €22 billion.