According to the World Gold Council, Germany and Italy have the second and third largest national gold reserves in the world (after the US alone), with 3,352 tons and 2,452 tons respectively.
Both Germany and Italy rely heavily on the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in New York to store gold, with more than a third of each country's gold reserves being held in the US. The total value of gold deposited by these two countries in the US is estimated at over 245 billion USD, according to calculations by the Financial Times.
The deposit of gold in the US is mainly due to historical factors, and at the same time reflects New York's role as a leading gold trading center in the world, along with London.
However, the unpredictable policies of the current US government along with global geopolitical instability are fueling a public debate in some European countries about whether to continue to keep gold in the US.
In Germany, the idea of bringing gold reserves home has received support from both the right and left. Peter Gauweiler, a former member of the Christian Union (CSU) in Bavaria, stressed that the German Central Bank (Bundesbank) must not be subjective in protecting national gold reserves.
We need to seriously consider the question of whether holding gold abroad is as safe and stable as it was a decade ago. The answer is clear: Increasing geopolitical risks are making the world increasingly unstable," he said.
The European Taxpayers Association (TAE) has sent a letter to the German and Italian finance ministries and central banks, calling on policymakers to reconsider their dependence on the Fed as a place to store gold.
We recommend bringing German and Italian gold back to the country to ensure the European central bank has absolute control at all times, Mr. Michael jager, Chairman of TAE, emphasized.
Before the visit to Washington by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in April, the Economic pen Enrico Grazzini wrote in the Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper that it is extremely dangerous for 43% of gold reserves in the US.
A survey of more than 70 global central banks this week found that more and more countries are considering domestic gold storage options, due to concerns about the possibility of accessing this gold figure in a crisis situation.
Since the mid-1960s, France under President Charles de Gaulle has moved most of its foreign gold reserves to Paris. In Germany, the 2010 campaign to bring gold back to the country has prompted the Bundesbank to change its policy.
In 2013, the German central bank decided to keep half of its domestic gold reserves, transferring 674 tonnes of gold from Paris and New York to Frankfurt headquarters in a large-scale security campaign worth 7 million euros. Currently, 37% of Germany's gold reserves are still held in New York.
In Italy, in 2019, when it was still the opposition party, the far-right Brothers of Italy led by Ms. Meloni called for gold reserves to be brought back to the country. Meloni has pledged that if her party takes power, Italy's gold reserves will be repatriated. However, since taking office as Italian Prime Minister at the end of 2022, Ms. Meloni has not mentioned this issue.
