Lisbon, July 1, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's defence minister said on Wednesday that the country has reached 2.01% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in military spending, and said that the forthcoming NATO summit in Ankara will be “very important” from a geostrategic perspective.
“We are just days away from setting off for the summit in Ankara [the capital of Turkey]; we take with us the certainty that Portugal has met and even exceeded the target of 2% of GDP for investment in national defence. In fact, we have reached a figure of 2.01%, now confirmed by NATO,” said Nuno Melo during a routine hearing at parliament.
In his opening remarks, Nuno Melo emphasised that Portugal achieved this figure “after two upward revisions to GDP” and stated that “Portugal can now take pride in saying that it honours the commitments it makes”.
Later, in response to PS MP Luís Dias, Nuno Melo specified that Portugal invested €6.1 billion in defence last year.
Of this amount, €4.1 billion is allocated to the Ministry of Defence, €1.16 billion to the Ministry of Finance, €266 million to the Ministry of Internal Administration, €63 million to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and €558 million to “other ministries”.
The minister emphasised, however, that this 2% target, set by NATO back in 2014, is merely a first milestone, given that at last year’s summit in The Hague, the allies committed to reaching 5%.
Nuno Melo stated that Portugal “will continue to fulfil its commitments to NATO, particularly with regard to the formation of a medium brigade, anti-submarine warfare capabilities and air defence”.
Nuno Melo noted that the United States “is scaling back many of its capabilities and support to NATO for geopolitical reasons” and pointed out that, in this context, “Canada and European allies have increased their investment from 27% to nearly 40%”.
The minister pointed out that this increase in investment demonstrates “preparation for a scenario in which European allies” and Canada will have to assume greater responsibility.
Nuno Melo also mentioned that at the last meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, he signed a “maritime security pact for the North Atlantic”, without going into further detail.
With regard to personnel, the minister stated that Portugal currently has around 25,000 military personnel in the Armed Forces and that the government has approved legislation authorising the recruitment of up to 31,000 personnel over the next three years, with an anticipated expenditure of over €150 million.
Abroad, as part of the National Deployed Forces, the country currently has 2,241 military personnel, five ships, twelve aircraft and 144 tactical vehicles deployed across 44 missions, he added.
Following a question raised by Chega MP Nuno Simões de Melo, the Deputy Secretary of State for National Defence, Álvaro Castelo Branco, announced that the government will increase the salaries of lifeboat crew members, with effect from today, after the parties reached an agreement on career progression until 2028.
ARL/ADB // ADB.
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