Since becoming Italian Prime Minister in 2022, Giorgia Meloni has developed a notable rapport with Elon Musk. The tech billionaire attended the 2023 edition of Meloni’s political festival, Atreju, and she has defended his recent political comments. Their relationship has attracted significant attention over the past few months with regard to a potential €1.5 billion deal to employ Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service for the provision of secure military communications to the Italian government.
Starlink, operated by SpaceX, uses a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to provide internet connectivity, particularly to underserved or remote areas. The service has been operational in Italy since 2021, serving approximately 50,000 customers, but discussions with ministers suggest a possible expansion into secure government communications. The talks reportedly include provisions for military communications to Italy’s estimated 7,000 troops deployed overseas and emergency services such as disaster response or counter-terrorism operations — for which Meloni says there is “no public alternative”. However, the Prime Minister’s office has denied signing any contracts, emphasising that talks with SpaceX were still “in the preliminary stage”.
The potential deal has stirred a heated debate in Italy. Opposition parties, primarily the Democratic Party (PD), have voiced significant apprehension about the deal, arguing that entrusting Italy’s sensitive government and military communications to a foreign private entity like SpaceX raises serious concerns about national security and sovereignty. One PD senator has described this move as an “unacceptable sell-out of national sovereignty”, highlighting the danger of relying on a company owned by Musk, who is known for his controversial political stances and close ties to Right-wing figures internationally. The fear is that sensitive data could potentially be at risk if not strictly managed under Italian or European control. Critics of the deal argue that Italy should foster its own technological capabilities or support the European Union’s satellite programs like Iris, set to launch in 2029, rather than outsourcing to a US-based company.
There’s also concern over the economic implications of the deal. Critics within the PD suggest that this partnership might sideline local and European companies, thereby affecting job opportunities within Italy’s telecom sector. The opposition has pointed out that Starlink’s services directly compete with local telecom operators, potentially leading to market monopolisation by SpaceX. This could have long-term negative effects on Italy’s telecommunications industry, reducing the incentive for local innovation and investment.
Many of the opposition’s criticisms are valid, but the rhetoric about national sovereignty rings hollow coming from the Democratic Party. Since its inception in the mid-2000s — and even in its previous post-communist incarnations — the party has consistently championed and facilitated the extensive transfer of Italy’s economic sovereignty to the European Union. Indeed, it has often dismissed the very notion of national sovereignty altogether, preferring the idea of “European sovereignty”. What’s more, the party has remained largely silent about the many Italian companies which have come under foreign ownership in recent years — often under its watch — or about the increasing influence of US investment funds, particularly BlackRock, in some of the country’s largest corporations.
It seems pretty clear, then, that the party’s true concern isn’t Italy’s national sovereignty or the country’s security and economic dependence on the US (which already exists), but rather Musk himself. The opposite could be said about Meloni, of course. There is good reason to believe that, from her standpoint, the deal is more about political allegiance than strategic necessity — that is, about cementing her relationship with Donald Trump and his incoming administration. Ultimately, the entire Italian political class seems resigned to its role as a satellite of foreign powers, with the only real dispute between the government and the opposition being whether to submit to Brussels or Washington.
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Subscribe> Critics of the deal argue that Italy should foster its own technological capabilities or support the European Union’s satellite programs like Iris, set to launch in 2029, rather than outsourcing to a US-based company.
And that there is the problem, the modern age of combat requires the support of a space program for communications and intelligence, but the problem is that the EU is coming to the party far to late. I’d wager a bucketful of Euros that Iris doesn’t actually end up launching in 2029 and I’ll be amazed if they can put anything into space by even 2035.
At this rate if a third world war comes the EU will be in much the same state the Polish army was in when they charged German tanks with horse mounted lancers.
As for the concerns about national security data being handled by a foreign government this is already laughable as the EU has no noteable tech sector to begin with. Id wager almost all of their data is handled by computers bought from American companies, running on Operating Systems built by American companies, and using programs developed by American companies. To pretend that using Starlink is what finally puts Italian telecommunications in the hands of a foreign state is complaining about the camel long after you let him put his nose in the tent.
Nailed it.
Italy is nearly – but not entirely – locked into the EU due to adopting the Euro. Making their defence dependant on Brussels would be the final nail in their national autonomy. Don’t do it !
Trudeau gave $3.5 Billion to a company in Quebec to develop its own Starlink service. All that will come of that is a bankruptcy and $3.5 Billion missing dollars. Biden did something similar for rural broadband. It is amazing the lengths progressive politicians will go to avoid freedom for their citizens.
How is Iris an alternative to Italy’s national surrender? Iris is mainly a French / Spanish project with token German involvement to keep the people paying for it semi happy.
Italy no longer has a native industry capable of building, launching, and operating a secure global satellite communication system. Whatever Italy buys, it is going to be foreign.
It is not clear the EU has the native industry either. Problems with the EU’s launcher means SpaceX rockets are likely to lift the first Iris satellites. First operation of Iris was originally planned for 2027 but the contracts signed in December push this back to the beginning of 2030 (not 2029 as the article suggests).
Iris is extortionate too, betraying the lack of capability to build this tech. €10.5bn for 290 low earth orbit (LEO) communication satellites equates to $36m each, at least double the cost of comparable LEO comms satellites in the last 5 years, and perhaps ten times the cost of a Starlink LEO satellite. Germany tried to stop Iris in 2024 citing the bloated cost. But with only one consortium “bidding” and that consortium consisting of a bunch of state-sponsored corporations, innovation and cost-effectiveness were never going to happen.
So if Italy needs a satellite comms system and can’t develop one itself, surely the Italian national interest is best served by buying the best and cheapest from a reliable defence partner? The EU is defending no one, Italy relies in the USA for its defence. And SpaceX is American, best, cheapest, and also exists now, not 2030…
If European countries all ‘didn’t submit’ there may well be chaos, and they may well all be poorer. This is worth an extended discussion.
The alternative would be to build a European Starlink, if Italy is willing to pay SpaceX €1.5 billion, they would be better off sitting down with Germany, France, Spain ect and build and plan their own system. this is why the UK saved Oneweb and now owns 11% of the company
Both Russia and China are planning their own version of Starlink
Hard to disagree, though the Don might not like it
Hmmm, ever heard of Galileo? Europe isn’t very good at this stuff.
I was going to make that point too, but Galileo does work
If Italy/Europe or any other country wants its own Starlink they first need a reuseable launcher, I suggest they get started ASAP
If they sat down with Germany France and Spain to get a European starlink they’d end up spending 1.5 billion Euros to have a committee formed to identify members of a task force to analyze the feasibility of creating an agency whose mission would be to investigate EU involvement in the space sector that would be able to have preliminary reports and data out by 2030 and would be willing to produce a working draft to be voted on by the EU parliament as early as 2035!
Nailed it. Europe doesn’t do innovation; only regulation.
Start by letting Mr Xi and Mr Putin know that any European invasion before 2035 would be downright impertinent
Our “leaders” are bent on war.
Time is an issue.
Starlink has the proven method; they could start now and build as they go. The rest of the EU can decide to join in if they want. Or not.
(Of course we could just get a new flock of “leaders”.)
There’s a certain irony, given that the Italian state is largely run from a bank in Frankfurt, in bloviations about a ‘sell-out’ in this context.
Better Elon than the Contessa Ursula.
I’m sure Italy would encrypt this kind of data before routing it via Starlink. Safe enough, then, at least until quantum decryption arrives.
As she should! Meloni is smart, savvy, and forward looking. Trying to position Italy for the post EU world is a great thing for her country and its people.