By declaring that Italy’s official gold reserves – the third largest in the world – belong to the “Italian people”, Giorgia Meloni’s government is essentially showing off its contingency plan for a major crisis – which it believes is imminent!
At a time of declining trust in European institutions, this is the last thing the Eurozone needs. The Italian government has proposed an amendment to the 2026 budget law that would state that the gold held by the Bank of Italy “belongs to the Italian people” and not to the “state”.
The wording may seem innocent – who would argue otherwise? – but it has sparked a wave of speculation, including calls for the European Central Bank to withdraw the provision. Legally, the amendment is – for now – devoid of any substantive content. The ownership and management of the gold reserves on the Italian central bank’s balance sheet are already precisely defined.
The Bank of Italy is fully integrated into the European System of Central Banks (Eurosystem), which is governed by the Treaties of the European Union, the Statute of the Eurosystem and Italian law. These frameworks ensure the operational independence of the central banks of the member states and prevent national governments from misappropriating national reserves.
In other words, with or without the new amendment, Italy would not be able to use its gold reserves to finance public spending or reduce its debt without the consent of the ECB – something that would not happen anyway. However, in the evolving institutional framework of the eurozone, symbolic moves carry political weight.
Alignment with Donald Trump and the Patriotic Message
Italy’s ruling party seems increasingly aligned with the worldview espoused by US President Donald Trump’s administration, as reflected in the latest National Security Strategy (NSS), which presents the EU as a scourge on “political freedom and national sovereignty.”
By declaring that gold “belongs to the people,” the Italian government is sending a message to voters who see the euro as an externally imposed constraint and the ECB as insufficiently accountable: the EU does not belong to us, and the nation still comes first. The message is certainly resonating. Italy has long touted its substantial gold reserves—the third largest in the world, totaling 2,452 metric tons—as a kind of backup for economic sovereignty.
For a country that has long struggled for fiscal health, the idea that a hidden asset can guarantee autonomy and independence in times of crisis is politically powerful. As long as Italy remains a member of the eurozone, this logic clashes with the reality of how European institutions work. Whenever Italian politicians have proposed using gold to reduce debt or support the economy, they have run up against constraints stemming from the conditions.
Anticipating the Disintegration of the EU
But if Italy were to leave the eurozone, either on its own or as part of a broader disintegration, the country’s gold reserves would anchor a new national currency, act as a guarantee for the stabilization of financial markets, and become a symbol of restored economic sovereignty.
Perhaps this is the aim of the amendment to the budget law: to hint at a future in which gold could act as a bulwark of Italian economic sovereignty – still an extremely remote possibility – without provoking institutional conflict.
But why hint, even faintly, at such a future? And why now? Three possible explanations stand out.
1. The first explanation is that the amendment constitutes an internal political maneuver.
Italy’s governing coalition, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, includes parties with long-standing Eurosceptic leanings. As Italy enters a period of tense negotiations over fiscal rules, budget targets and access to EU funds, an invocation of national sovereignty is an inexpensive way to relieve domestic pressures without changing the country’s political commitments.
2. Second, the amendment may aim to send a subtle message to European officials.
Italy remains a large and systemically important member of the eurozone, and its economic stability is inextricably linked to that of the monetary union. By showcasing its significant gold reserves, the government may be trying to remind EU institutions and the ECB that fiscal negotiations should take political realities into account. In a system based on mutual trust, symbolic gestures can act as a form of negotiation.
3. Finally, Italy may be bracing itself for a rapidly changing geopolitical environment.
Meloni has taken a noticeably warmer stance toward Trump than most European leaders, who resent his lack of commitment to the transatlantic alliance and his concerted efforts to increase Europe’s strategic uncertainty. With the amendment to the budget law, Meloni may be seeking to ensure that her party is seen as one of the “patriotic European parties” whose “growing influence” is being touted by the Trump administration’s NSS. None of this directly means that Italy is planning to leave the euro – at least for now – but that it is preparing for a Great Reset.
Preparing for the Coming Crisis
By emphasizing the “people’s ownership” of Italy’s gold reserves, the government is essentially highlighting its contingency plan for a major crisis – especially an exit from the eurozone or its dissolution.
In a period of weak growth, geopolitical turmoil, strategic uncertainty and declining trust in European institutions, it is important that centrifugal forces are building.
After all, a monetary union is held together by political commitments as well as legal frameworks. Challenging these commitments, even subtly, can shake its foundations.
Italy’s gold remains safely stored in the vaults of its central bank. But Europe can no longer ignore narratives that can create significant uncertainty as to whether the claim to economic sovereignty will remain there.
