The overall final vote on the proposed Military Programming and Military Infrastructure Laws, scheduled for today, was postponed at the request of the Socialist Party, the president of the Defense Committee, Marcos Perestrello.
According to the Socialist bench, the postponement of one week was due to the fact that several PS deputies were engaged in commitments, namely abroad, and could not be present today for the vote in plenary, also giving more time for a final consolidated version.
This request was agreed to by all the other parties.
The approval of the proposed Military Programming Law (MPL) and Military Infrastructure Law (MIP) depends on the favorable vote of an absolute majority of the deputies in office, i.e. 116 deputies.
The work in the specialty ended on Wednesday, with the two proposals approved with some amendments, with most of the suggestions presented by the opposition being rejected.
The draft Military Programming Law, which establishes the public investment in means and equipment for the Armed Forces, foresees an overall amount of 5,570 million Euros by 2034, of which only 5,292 million are guaranteed through State Budget funds.
The remaining 278 million will have to come from the National Defense’s own revenues, through value-added tax refund processes, or from the sale of arms, equipment, and ammunition, or even – this being a novelty in the law – from the monetization of real estate, “when these revenues are not allocated to the execution of the Military Infrastructure Law (LIM).
The executive’s draft Military Infrastructure Bill, meanwhile, foresees a total investment until 2034 of around 272 million, with the first four years (until 2026) being close to 96 million.