“We understand that, given the emergency we are experiencing and facing in the European space, it is important for the Government to make an effort so that by 2025, the national defense spending approaches 2%,” stated Carlos César, interim Secretary-General of the PS, speaking to reporters at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Lisbon.
The socialist was speaking alongside José Luís Carneiro, the PS’s sole candidate for party leadership, following a 45-minute meeting with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. The meeting was called by the government in connection with the NATO summit taking place in The Hague, Netherlands, on the 24th and 25th.
Carlos César conveyed to the Prime Minister that the increased investment in defense, as requested by NATO, should not jeopardize the welfare state or the “sustainability of public finances.” While acknowledging the challenge of meeting this goal, he emphasized that Portugal must demonstrate to international partners that it is working toward it.
The PS president underscored his concern with the sustainability of public finances, “not necessarily a specific deficit or surplus amount,” after Portugal requested Brussels in April to activate the safeguard clause, excluding defense investments planned for the coming years from European budgetary rules.
This investment, from the socialist perspective, should also stimulate national production linked to the sector.
“We are, therefore, in convergence in terms of values and objectives. However, it is crucial for us that the Government provide a more precise understanding of the economic and financial impacts, both in terms of military capabilities that need to be increased and concerning our national economy,” he warned.
César recalled that the 2% target was set by NATO over a decade ago, noting that the country had been focused on “rebalancing public finances.”
The socialist leader emphasized that previous PS governments “managed to equip the country with financial means and a healthy public finance state that allows for an over-effort in national defense.”
The 5% target announced by the NATO Secretary-General and for which the US has been pushing, according to the socialist, “is not compatible” with Portugal’s budgetary reality.
However, the country should align with the objective of increasing defense spending and include in this accounting investments “in civil protection, cybersecurity, or the technological sector.”
When asked if the Government provided details of the “credible plan” that Defense Minister Nuno Melo claimed to have to reach this target this year, Carlos César preferred to comment on other statements from the centrist leader, who in November last year accused the PS of misreporting the military spending weight in GDP to the Atlantic Alliance.
“I do not comment on the Defense Minister’s statements, except to find them highly inappropriate, untimely, and lacking a sense of state, particularly regarding allegations of incorrect communication by the Portuguese Government regarding national defense spending to NATO in 2023,” he criticized.
César expressed being astonished at the “total lack of state sense, peculiar to him, having delved into accounting labyrinths aiming to discredit the Portuguese state,” and said he conveyed this opinion to the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister reiterated today that the defense investment boost would not affect the balance of public finances or social spending and expressed openness to contributions from the opposition, especially from the largest parliamentary groups.
