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From competitiveness to defence and space, Rome hosts a landmark meeting that deepens bilateral cooperation and aims to strengthen the European pillar
The Italy–Germany intergovernmental summit held in Rome marks a decisive step forward in one of Europe’s most important bilateral relationships. Hosted on Friday 23 at Villa Doria Pamphilj, the meeting brings together an unusually large political delegation—eleven Italian ministers and ten German counterparts—underscoring what both governments describe as a “qualitative leap” in cooperation. Two years after the Berlin Summit of November 2023, Rome is intended to confirm a shared commitment to sustained, reinforced collaboration at a time when Europe’s economic and geopolitical balance is being profoundly reshaped.
The summit takes place against a backdrop of common challenges facing both countries: industrial competitiveness, energy security, technological sovereignty and defence. At the heart of the meeting is a bilateral encounter between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, expected to conclude with the exchange of around ten intergovernmental agreements. Among these, the most politically significant is a Protocol for an Action Plan on enhanced strategic cooperation, accompanied by a security, defence and resilience agreement and a joint document on European competitiveness addressed to the European Commission ahead of the informal EU meeting scheduled for 12 February.
Germany remains Italy’s leading trading partner, a fact repeatedly highlighted during the Rome meetings. Bilateral trade exceeds €150 billion annually, making Berlin the top destination for Italian exports. Speaking at the opening of the Italy–Germany Business Forum at the Parco dei Principi hotel, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani underlined that in the first eleven months of 2025 bilateral trade surpassed €146 billion, up by more than 2 percent year on year. Italian exports to Germany alone are worth around €146 billion out of a total national export value of €623.5 billion.
More than 2,000 Italian companies currently operate on the German market, and Rome is keen to see that number grow. Ahead of a business forum packed with panels on advanced industries—ranging from automotive and pharmaceuticals to energy and aerospace—Tajani stressed that internationalisation remains central to Italy’s growth strategy. Strengthening industrial ties with Germany is seen not only as an economic priority but also as a way to anchor European supply chains in a period of global uncertainty.
Defence and security form another core pillar of the summit. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto held what he described as a “cordial and productive” meeting with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, focusing on support for a fully-fledged European defence based on interoperability and operational readiness. Both ministers agreed on the need to reinforce coordination between Rome and Berlin to consolidate European deterrence and to adapt the continent’s strategic posture to evolving threats. Space was also discussed as a new operational domain, with possible areas of cooperation explored.
At the political level, Meloni and Merz committed to strengthening the European pillar of NATO. Their agreement emphasizes the need to coordinate joint responses to Euro-Atlantic security threats and to reinforce NATO’s deterrence and defence posture through a stronger European contribution. While the agreement is not legally binding and does not constitute an international treaty, it reaffirms both countries’ full commitment to NATO and to enhancing the EU’s defensive readiness.
A third major axis of cooperation concerns digital transformation and strategic technologies. As part of the bilateral Action Plan, Italy’s Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, held talks with Germany’s Minister for Digitalisation and State Modernisation, Karsten Wildberger, calling for simpler rules, less bureaucracy and stronger industrial capacity in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and critical infrastructure.
Urso also met German Space Minister Dorothee Bär to sign an agreement on the creation of a joint Italian–German satellite constellation. The initiative builds on growing industrial cooperation in defence and space, including partnerships between Leonardo and Rheinmetall, Fincantieri and Thyssenkrupp, and the Bromo space project involving Italian, German and French industries. As Urso noted, the objective is clear: to foster European champions capable of competing globally. In this vision, Italy and Germany are not just partners, but co-architects of a more competitive, secure and technologically sovereign Europe.
Alessandro Fiorentino