Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Tuesday that Britain is not fully sharing technologies with Italy and Japan in a major project to develop a new fighter jet.
The Italian official urged the British government to bring down the barriers of selfishness.
Crosetto stressed the importance of the Global Combat Air Programme, GCAP, which aims to develop by 2035 an aircraft that incorporates the most advanced technologies.
According to the defence minister, a senior member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s rightist Brothers of Italy party, sharing technology when making investments together was crucial to a serious relationship.
“There is no longer anyone who can be considered first and second class and who wants to defend old legacies.
“You have to break down some barriers of selfishness. Italy has broken them down totally, Japan almost totally. It seems to me that the UK is much more reluctant to do this, and that’s a mistake because selfishness is the worst enemy of nations,” he said.
