ROME (AP) 鈥 Italy鈥檚 Premier Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that her government is in talks with several private companies, including Elon Musk鈥檚 SpaceX, over the country鈥檚 telecoms security system, but denied having discussed the issue privately with Musk.
鈥淚 never talked about this with Musk. It鈥檚 not my habit to use my public role to do favors to friends,鈥 Meloni said, responding to reporters鈥 questions during her start-of-the-year press conference on a possible deal with Musk鈥檚 group over Italian telecoms security.
Meloni stressed that national interest was 鈥渢he only lens鈥 through which she judged such potential contracts with SpaceX, the owner of satellite system Starlink.
Reportedly worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) and spread over five years, the project sparked an outcry by Italy's opposition parties, questioning that the handling of such communications could be handed to a .
If the deal is sealed, SpaceX would provide encryption services for the Italian government and communications infrastructure for the military and emergency services.
Earlier this week, Meloni denied forging such a deal with Musk 鈥 who has developed a friendly relationship with the Italian premier. A government statement went even further, 鈥渃ategorically鈥 denying that a SpaceX deal was discussed during Meloni鈥檚 recent meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago.
鈥淪paceX allows very delicate information to be communicated securely on a diplomatic and military level,鈥 Meloni told Thursday鈥檚 press conference. 鈥淩egarding the method, I can say that these are discussions that the government has with many private companies.鈥
Meloni reiterated that the government is still in an 鈥渋nvestigative鈥 phase and no contracts have been signed. 鈥淭he issue is that there are no public alternatives for these technologies, obviously it鈥檚 a question of placing data protection in the hands of a private entity. But the alternative is not having these data protected,鈥 she said.
鈥淏oth scenarios are not ideal 鈥 If one day communications of sensitive data end up in the wrong hands, the government is responsible,鈥 she added.
SpaceX has been approached by email for comment.
Meloni also noted that Musk鈥檚 political ideas could have been the real reason behind the controversy.
鈥淚s the problem related to private investments or to the political ideas of the investors?鈥 she asked the press conference鈥檚 audience.
Musk, who鈥檚 a close ally of Trump, has openly expressed his enthusiasm for a possible collaboration with Rome, writing on X that his company is 鈥渞eady to provide Italy the most secure and advanced connectivity.鈥
Already active in Italy since 2021, Starlink could expand its services to include emergencies, such as disasters or terrorist attacks. Musk鈥檚 group is also developing another project for defence and sensitive operations called Starshield.
Experts in the security field have stressed the increasing sensitivity of European countries sealing partnerships with SpaceX, whose success has put increasing pressure on Europe鈥檚 satellite and telecoms industry.
Meloni also defended Musk's freedom to express his political ideas, saying that in her opinion he didn't pose a risk for democracy.
鈥淭he problem is when these people use resources to finance parties and associations halfway around the world to influence policies, which I don鈥檛 see Musk doing, unlike (American investor and philanthropist George) Soros,鈥 the Italian premier said.
鈥淚 consider this a dangerous interference,鈥 she added. "But when it happened, we talked about philanthropists: is the problem that (Musk) is rich and influential or that he is not left-wing?鈥 she asked.
In December, the leader of the right-wing populist Reform party in the U.K., Nigel Farage, said the party was in over a donation, although he played down speculation that it could be as much as $100 million.
However, Farage later distanced himself from Musk after the billionaire from prison of a far-right activist who goes by the name of Tommy Robinson.
