In Italy, ruling party lawmakers have decided to advance legislation arguing that the $300 billion worth of gold reserves belong to the state. Senator Lucio Malan, from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party, Brothers of Italy, told Radio 24 that the initiative aims to prevent the reserves from being used “for the wrong purposes” in the future.
Malan explained the rationale behind the bill by saying, “Even Bankitalia doesn’t have unlimited authority regarding gold reserves.”
Bankitalia has the world’s third largest national gold reserves, after the US and Germany, with 2,452 tons of reserves. This amount is equivalent to approximately 13 percent of the country’s national income.
The government will seek opinions from both Bankitalia and the European Central Bank (ECB) before the legal regulation is finalized. Malan and four other MPs aim to enshrine in the 2026 budget an amendment stipulating that “the gold reserves managed by Bankitalia belong to the state on behalf of the Italian people.”
Over the past two decades, various political parties have demanded clarification on the ownership issue due to debates about the possibility of selling the reserves in the future for purposes such as debt reduction or tax cuts.
The ECB, in its response to a similar initiative in 2019, stated that any restrictions on the management of gold reserves would be incompatible with EU treaties. The statutes of the European System of Central Banks prohibit national central banks from taking instructions from EU institutions or member states.
Malan argued that the coalition had no plan to sell gold, stating that their sole aim was to “eliminate the risk of uncontrolled disposal of reserves.”
According to Bankitalia, gold reserves could be used as collateral or sold on the market to support the euro if deemed necessary.
