Portugal will boost defence investment by one billion in 2025

Portugal will boost the sum to "directly invest in equipment procurement, investment, enhancing our human resources" in defence by around one billion euros by the end of this year, bringing forward the goals set in the Military Programming Law, said Prime Minister Primeiro-Ministro Luís Montenegro.

At the press conference following the end of the NATO Heads of State meeting the Hague, the Netherlands, Luís Montenegro said that the Military Programming Law has several goals of boosting military capabilities and is studying "the possibility of bringing forward some of the targets and prioritising some of the planning instrument’s goals".

"In time, as quickly as possible, we shall inform on the specific areas where investment will be increased", namely in terms of equipment and infrastructure, he added.

By 2029

However, the goal of reaching 2% of GDP in defence investment is not easy "and it’s not due to lack of willingness nor money." Procuring military supplies "is not exactly a simple shopping spree", or buying a car, where "we sometimes have to wait a while" before receiving our purchase.

It takes even longer with military supplies, which is why the Government is "streamlining procurement procedures" and "setting up trade relations with suppliers", but the "answers are not immediate.".

The Ministries that govern defence, foreign affairs, the economy, science and innovation, and the environment and energy are working towards finding a wat of using military and civilian means in some of these investments.

In the next four years, Portugal will invest "above 2% of GDP" with "a gradual scaling" so that in 2029 we are in a position to meet the ultimate target of 5% in the following six years.

"We are talking about a timeline of several Governments in office and therefore, we, just as I’ve stated before the summit, continue to favour political dialogue with the main opposition parties". When preparing for the summit, the Prime Minister met with the two main opposition parties.

Military staff

Luís Montenegro recalled the first wage increase executed last year and included in the 2025 State Budget, which "offer a greater capacity to attract and retain human resources in our Armed Forces".

The Prime Minister noted that this financial effort "is only possible because our public finances are balanced and within that equilibrium, we don’t require additional measures".

5% by 2035

The NATO Summit approved the goal of allocating 5% of GDP to defence in each of the 32 countries by 2035, with some "flexibility" in terms of timeframes, but did not indicate mandatory annual targets.

"The Allies undertake to, in a 10-year period, reach investment in security and defence of 3.5%" in traditional military spending (equipment and training, "plus 1.5 in indirect spending", investing in dual use, civilian and military capabilities (cybersecurity, readiness, and strategic resilience), he said. 

This target is even more ambitious than the previous [2%] one and for that reason, an intense bargaining process was necessary where Portugal, with the discretion these procedures imply, contributed in an active way towards a credible project to achieve these targets" Luís Montenegro noted.

Progressiveness

"First of all, we achieved an extension of the timeframe to comply with these targets, which initially was set to be 2030 and at the end of the summit it was set that the target is by 2035", he claimed before the end of the summit.

In addition, "it was also important to introduce a context of not imposing fixed ceilings or annual increase percentages, which does not mean that every ally shouldn’t have a credible increase in investment process in defence, yet without the imposition of meeting annual targets", he added.

"A strategic revision clause in 2029, given the evolution in the geopolitical context, the strategic context, and the possibility of reaching some" capacity goals was also introduced.

Tension and instability

The Prime Minister said the NATO summit was held a critical time for the Alliance at a European and global level with "several tension and instability areas", noting "Russia’s assault against Ukraine, the rising instability in the Middle East, and also North Africa".

"This summit is quite a demonstration of the capacity for unity and credibility this Alliance project can and must show in the coming years", he added.

Luís Montenegro also claimed that "we are United States partners, we are United States allies, and there is no doubt about that". "Evidently, this is not a conclusion that doesn0t mean we won’t critically appraise every position, and we have done so according to the circumstances".