Defence investment programme will have an autonomous oversight structure

The funding programme for European Union Member States’ military upgrading, known as SAFE, under which Portugal request loans of 5.8 billion euros will not "overlook transparency mechanisms", said the Minister of National Defence at the Parliament’s Defence Commission.

Nuno Melo reiterated the setup of an oversight structure or system that ensures that members of the Court of Auditors, Public Prosecution Services and Inspectorate-General for Finance, among others, request all the information and documents, claiming that "we are the first with interest in having everything analysed, scrutinised, and not just for the procurement process, rather the entire life cycle. If that is 30 years, then it shall be 30 years of oversight".

The programme has its own rules, different to the general ones in the European Union "given the need to procure equipment, which is pressing" and the military nature of this very equipment.

The Minister reiterated that SAFE is a "unique opportunity" to deeply modernise the Portuguese military’s equipment, with a return for the national industry. Portugal applied for a 5.8-billion-euro plan by 2030.

Nuno Melo noted that the processes to define and negotiate the equipment are under way and said that he will speak about these matters once the deals are closed.

*Two percent of GDP for defence*

The Minister of Defence also stated that Portugal met the 2% of GDP target in military expenditure for 2025, an amount it must keep and increase in coming years to meet the NATO commitments.

The Minister also explained that the contract to procure four Black Hawk helicopters to support medical emergency assignments was signed with Ace Aeronautics for an amount lower than the expected 32 million, funded by the RRF, with a maximum delivery deadline of 31 August of this year.