Lisbon, Aug. 12, 2026 (Lusa) - The Ministry of Defence has stated that the Portuguese parliament will have access to the agreement and other official documents relating to the purchase of three frigates from Italy, emphasising that the entire process is being duly audited.
In a written response to the Lusa news agency regarding whether the agreement with Italy will be made public or disclosed to parliament, the Ministry of Defence stated that «the agreement and other official documents are and will be made available to the bodies and institutions responsible for scrutinising, approving and auditing the SAFE programme, its agreements and contracts, including parliament, amongst others».
The Government also stated that «the entire process and procedures will be monitored and audited by the largest monitoring, control and audit structure ever established in Portugal's democratic history».
«Without prejudice to the bodies that are permanently authorised to audit any and all processes of this nature (for example, the Court of Auditors, the public prosecutor's office, etc.), there will be a further three levels of audit specifically concerning SAFE investments and defence (not limited to SAFE alone), to which the full set of documents and other elements constituting the files will be permanently available», the statement reads.
The ministry added that the Defence Minister, Nuno Melo, «is, as he always has been, available to provide clarifications in Parliament whenever requested to do so», adding that «the level of information provided on each such occasion is also the highest possible, taking into account each stage of the ongoing SAFE process».
On Monday, the Chega parliamentary group questioned the Government on the total cost of the acquisition of the three FREMM EVO frigates, what is included in the announced €3.9 billion, and the reasons for the increase in the price of these frigates compared to the approximately €3 billion that had been associated with this operation in December 2025.
Chega MPs also sought clarification on the criteria that led to the choice of the Italian solution and whether the Government was aware of the existence of a commission of around €90 million (as reported by the 24Horas newspaper).
Regarding this commission, in a statement, the Ministry of Defence maintained that this process is taking place between the Portuguese and Italian states, «not with companies», and that «no Portuguese company has ever participated in the procurement process involving the Portuguese and Italian states».
The PS also submitted questions to Nuno Melo via parliament regarding «one of the largest acquisitions of military equipment carried out by Portugal in recent decades».
«However, to date, key aspects regarding the achievement of these objectives remain to be clarified. In particular, the commitments made regarding the level of Portuguese industry involvement in the construction, systems integration, maintenance and sustainment of the frigates are unknown, as are the mechanisms that will ensure this investment yields an effective return for the national business sector throughout the ships' entire life cycle, estimated at over 30 years», it states.
The Socialists want to know which Portuguese companies will be able to participate in the programme, which technological areas are covered by the announced technology transfer, and what role the Alfeite Shipyard will play in the maintenance, modernisation and logistical support of these platforms.
Portugal is set to acquire three new-generation Italian-built frigates, in an investment of around €3.9 billion, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced in July following a meeting in Rome with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni.
TS/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
