Before a luncheon at the IDL – Amaro da Costa Institute in Lisbon, Nuno Melo stressed that allocating 2% of GDP to Defense “is the minimum that any NATO member country must meet at this moment.”
“It is not a matter of desire or choice. It has to be so, or else we leave NATO, and then we do not benefit from Article 5 and this unique protection and defense system,” he remarked.
The Minister of National Defense argued that Portugal “must invest in its Armed Forces with peace in mind, not war,” as well as “in the purchase of equipment and modernization of assets and infrastructure” that can also be used in “civil missions of the Armed Forces.”
“It is absolutely crucial. The discussion is always very friendly, people may like it or not, but anyone who values their way of life a little understands that there is no other option,” he emphasized, warning that “the world is indeed dangerous” and “unstable.”
Nuno Melo highlighted that “in no case will the Welfare State be jeopardized” and “in no case can the performance of the economy be compromised,” insisting that “through this investment,” the Government’s goal is “to strengthen the economy’s performance.”
The minister also argued that it is not an expense, but an investment.
He noted that the “Defense effort is a collective defense effort” and Portugal “must fulfill its obligation,” considering the values defined at the NATO summit as “the result of a commitment required of all these countries.”
“[…] It is absolutely crucial for Portugal also to strengthen the European Defense pillar of NATO. This means that we have to reduce NATO and the European Union’s strategic dependence, we have to do much more for ourselves than what we have become accustomed to doing under the United States’ umbrella, as democracy, freedom, and our way of life are at stake,” he stated.
The minister mentioned that “the main adversaries” of these values “invest in Defense much more than what the European Union countries that are part of NATO currently invest.”
The minister described the NATO summit held over the past two days in The Hague, Netherlands, as “historic” due to the decisions made.
At the occasion, the minister and CDS-PP leader refrained from commenting on whether the Health Minister has the conditions to continue in office after the IGAS report concluded that the death of a man during the INEM strike in November 2024 could have been avoided.
On Thursday, at the end of the NATO summit, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro pledged to reach the 2% of GDP in Defense by the end of this year – which, according to the Government’s calculations, will require an additional investment of about one billion euros.
In addition to this target, the NATO summit agreed that allies should invest 5% of GDP in Defense-related expenses, of which 3.5% in traditional military expenditures (Armed Forces, equipment, and training) and an additional 1.5% in investments such as infrastructure and industry by 2035, with an interim review in 2029.
