Italy's talks on deploying Musk's Starlink paused, minister says

Donato Paolo Mancini and Antonio Vanuzzo, Bloomberg News on Mar 22, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Italy’s talks on deploying billionaire Elon Musk‘s Starlink in military and government applications are on hold, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told newspaper La Repubblica in an interview on Saturday.

“It appears to me everything has paused, also because the discussion has gone from Starlink to statements from and on the person,” Crosetto said.

“We’re not talking about the technical details. When the controversy quiets down, there will be a technical approach,” he said. “The main point remains: what is most useful and secure for the nation.”

Italy has become more cautious about closing a €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) deal with Starlink in the wake of seismic changes in geopolitics brought about by the U.S. administration, Bloomberg reported earlier this month. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has told ministers shifting geopolitics required an alternative to Starlink.

Eutelsat Communications SA could be among possible options aside from Starlink for secure satellite-based communications to the government, people familiar with the situation have said.

Crosetto on Saturday also reiterated he doesn’t believe that setting up a European army would be necessary. “There is no need,” he said, “The model is NATO, which is very efficient. If we copy-paste it, tomorrow we would have a Europe-wide defense.”