The defence ministry of Italy is proposing to augment the number of its military personnel by over 60 per cent in the next 18 years at a cost of 6 billion euros or 7 billion dollars, according to a document obtained by Reuters.

Military professionals drafted the proposal, and it was submitted this week to Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, and lays the foundations for a major overhaul of the armed forces, which is expected to be unveiled by the close of March.

The professionals suggested increasing the total army, navy and air force personnel to 275,000 as compared to the current 170,000, with a reserve of 15,000.

NATO nations last year vowed to increase their expenditures on defence to 5% of national output at the urging of the U.S. President Donald Trump, a demand that poses a challenge to Italy, which, with its traditionally low budget, is traditionally below that of its peers.

In the previous year, NATO estimated that Italy used only 2.01 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence.

In the new proposal that has not been finalised and would have to go through parliament, the staffing increase would be gradual, as by 2044, the personnel cost would have risen to approximately 15 billion euros compared to 8.8 billion at the moment.

Crosetto, a very close friend of the Prime Minister known as Giorgia Meloni, promised that Italy would reach the new 5% mark by 2035. Nonetheless, such a drastic rise will come under fierce criticism on the part of the government, as opponents argue that the money should be used to uplift health and education. (1 = 0.8498 euros)