The political scientist spoke about the growth of the movement in Italy against support for Ukraine

A movement opposing the financing and arming of Ukraine is gaining popularity in Italy. This was announced to Izvestia on Thursday, April 17, by Italian political scientist and journalist Mark Bernardini.

"There is a growing movement in Italy <...>, especially against Italian investments in armaments, which is gaining momentum. That is, against the share that Italy should contribute to the total budget of the European Union of $800 billion announced by [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen," our interlocutor said.

According to the political scientist, more and more Italian citizens began to wonder how to pay for gas, which the EU countries purchase three times more expensive, and not at low prices from Russia as before.

In addition, the expert spoke about the negative impact of US President Donald Trump's economic measures on the Italian economy. According to him, exports of goods from the agri-food sector will suffer especially in the event of a resumption of tariffs.

"If it used to cost, say, €20, and now it will cost €40, then the American consumer will think twice before buying Italian products," Bernardini said.

At the same time, the political scientist clarified that it is still unclear whether the duties will actually be introduced. Bernardini stressed that this was "not entirely obvious" following the meeting between Italian Prime Minister George Meloni and Trump on April 17.

On March 31, it was reported that the Italian Prime Minister intends to visit the United States to negotiate at least a partial easing of economic measures.

On March 15, Meloni said that Italy would not send its troops to Ukraine, and called on EU countries to work with the United States to identify reliable and effective security guarantees.

On April 9, the American leader announced the suspension of duties previously imposed on a number of countries for 90 days. He also announced an immediate increase in duties on products from China to 125%. On April 10, this figure reached 145%.