ROME

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met on Thursday NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte in Rome, ahead of a summit of the transatlantic alliance later this month in The Hague that will address the key issue of defense spending.

The Italian premier’s office said the meeting allowed for “an in-depth exchange in preparation for the next NATO Summit.”

It added that the two leaders addressed the issues of “collective security spending and the construction of an increasingly innovative and competitive defense industry, in complementarity with the EU.”

“During the meeting, support for Ukraine and the role of the Atlantic Alliance as an essential pillar for collective defense were reaffirmed, as well as the importance of a 360-degree approach to Euro-Atlantic security,” Meloni’s office added.

US President Donald Trump will attend the NATO summit in The Hague later in June, where his demands for Europe to ramp up defense spending will dominate the agenda.

Trump has long criticized NATO partners for not paying their share of security expenses and the summit in The Hague will be the first with the alliance since his return to power.

Italy is one of NATO's lowest defense spending contributors, with less than 1.5% of its output invested in defense in 2024, well below the alliance's existing 2% target.

Trump has requested allies pledge to spend 5% at the summit.

Rome has announced it will meet the 2% target this year, while Rutte has proposed a split target of 3.5% spending on core defense capabilities, plus another 1.5% on related areas such as cyber security and infrastructure.