Ownership dispute resurfaces! The Italian government plans to nationalize the central bank's $300 billion gold reserve.

A senator said on Thursday that despite concerns that this move may violate EU rules, Italian ruling party lawmakers still intend to push forward with a proposal that the central bank's $300 billion gold reserves belong to the country. Luigi Marani, a senator from the Italian Brothers of Italy party led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, told the media that the aim is to prevent the misuse of the gold reserves in the future. "Even the Bank of Italy cannot dispose of gold at will," Marani emphasized. The third largest gold reserve in the world The Bank of Italy holds the third largest national gold reserve in the world, behind only the United States and Germany. Its 2,452 tons of gold reserves are equivalent to about 13% of the country's GDP. A government official stated that Italy will seek the opinions of the Bank of Italy and the European Central Bank before legislating on this matter. Marani and four other party colleagues have submitted an amendment to the Parliament's 2026 budget proposal, declaring that "the gold reserves managed and held by the Bank of Italy belong to the nation, representing the Italian people in trust." In the past 20 years, politicians from various parties have continuously called for clarity on gold ownership, considering the possibility of selling gold in the future to reduce Italy's public debt, or to raise funds for tax cuts and increased spending. The European Central Bank warned in 2019 that any actions restricting the autonomy of central banks (including the management of gold reserves) would conflict with EU treaties. The "Statute of the European System of Central Banks" prohibits central bank officials from accepting instructions from EU institutions or member states. Marani denied that the coalition government has plans to sell gold, stating that his party aims only to eliminate the risk of reserves being sold off, but did not disclose specific details. He added, "Setting reserves as collateral to limit use is one thing, but declaring ownership to someone else is a different matter." Other parties within the alliance also support this proposal. The Bank of Italy stated on its official website that gold can be used as collateral to secure loans, or as a final resort to sell in the market to purchase euros to maintain currency stability.