Minister Nuno Melo says that reinforcement in Defense «is crucial» and done «with peace in mind»

Speaking to journalists before a lunch at IDL – Instituto Amaro da Costa , in Lisbon, Nuno Melo stated that 2% of GDP allocated to Defense “is the minimum that any NATO member country must currently meet”.

"It is not a question of will or choice. It has to be this way, or else it will leave NATO, and then we will not benefit from Article 5, and we will not benefit from this protection and this defence system, which is unique," he said.

The Minister of National Defense argued that Portugal “has to invest in its Armed Forces with peace in mind, not war”, as well as “in the purchase of equipment and the modernization of goods and infrastructure” that could also be used in “civil missions of the Armed Forces”.

“It is absolutely crucial. The discussion is always very friendly, people may think it is good, they may think it is bad, but whoever values ​​their way of life a little bit, realizes that they have no other option”, he stressed, warning that “the world is really dangerous” and “is unstable”.

Nuno Melo stressed that "under no circumstances will the Welfare State be jeopardized" and "under no circumstances may the performance of the economy be compromised", arguing that "through this investment", the government's objective "is to strengthen the performance of the economy".

The minister also argued that this is not an expense, but an investment.

The official pointed out that the “Defense effort is a collective defense effort” and Portugal “must fulfill its obligation”, considering that the values ​​defined at the NATO summit are “the result of a commitment that is required of all these countries”.

«[…] It is absolutely crucial for Portugal to also strengthen NATO's European Defence Pillar. This means that we have to reduce our strategic dependence on NATO and the European Union, we have to do much more for ourselves than what we are used to doing under the umbrella of the United States, because democracy, freedom and our way of life are at stake», he argued.

The minister said that “the main adversaries” of these values ​​“invest in Defense much more than what the European Union countries that are part of NATO [invest] at the moment”.

The minister described the NATO summit that took place over the last two days in The Hague, Netherlands, as “historic” due to the decisions that were taken.

At the time, the minister and leader of the CDS-PP did not want to comment on whether the Minister of Health is able to continue in office, after the conclusion of the IGAS report was known, which states 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 committed to reaching 2% of GDP on Defense by the end of this year – which, according to government figures, will require an increase in investment of around one billion euros.

In addition to this target, the NATO summit agreed that allies should invest 5% of GDP in defense-related expenditure, of which 3.5% in traditional military spending (Armed Forces, equipment and training) and an additional 1.5% in investments such as infrastructure and industry by 2035, with a mid-term review in 2029.

The Left Bloc reacted to this announcement by the Portuguese government and considered Prime Minister Luís Montenegro to be “totally subservient” to Donald Trump .