“We will be able to fulfill this commitment to NATO. We do not need more taxes,” stated Nuno Melo during an interview with Lusa, on the sidelines of the “Protecting Europe: Addressing Today’s and Tomorrow’s Threats” conference, an initiative by the European People’s Party (PPE) group in the European Parliament, taking place today in Lisbon.
One of Europe’s leading research centers and regular advisors to European institutions, Bruegel, has proposed that countries consider the creation of a new tax to help finance the effort needed to meet the NATO target.
The experts’ recommendation, disclosed today, indicates that countries lagging behind in the NATO target, such as Portugal, Spain, Malta, or Ireland, are the main targets of this proposal.
The suggestion is rejected by the Defense Minister for Portugal, emphasizing that the financial goal will be achieved based on some assumptions, such as maintaining the welfare state and not creating new taxes.
“At no time can the welfare state be compromised,” and “we cannot harm the economy; on the contrary,” he stated.
He further explained that investment in defense would even boost the Portuguese economy.
“We know that defense industries pay higher salaries, invest more in research and development, and provide a much greater return for the Gross Domestic Product,” he mentioned, adding that the investment effort in defense will require ensuring that “every acquisition or modernization of equipment or infrastructure must always involve the Portuguese industry.”
