Lisbon, Oct. 8, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's president insisted on Thursday that the European Union (EU) must have autonomy in defence matters, procure technology internally and consult on aircraft models.

«When, for example, there is talk of the need to procure aircraft in Europe for our Armed Forces, well, it might also be worth Europe agreeing on whether it is justified to have two or three different aircraft models. The same applies to main battle tanks, and the same applies to submarines,» said António José Seguro at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.

Seguro addressed the EU's autonomy in defence matters at the 7th Lisbon Conference, an initiative of the Lisbon Club, on the day US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Portugal and is due to meet with the prime minister and the foreign minister.

«Our American friends and allies say that Europe must take greater responsibility for its defence, spend more on defence, and defend itself,» said António José Seguro.

«I agree. But this means that Europe must reach a consensus and adopt a coherent approach to developing this very concept of defence. This means it must have its own technology and must develop markets that allow it to make the most of that technology – technology that is dual-use, serving both defence and security purposes and, at the same time, civilian purposes, for the benefit of our economy,» he added.

Seguro cited «drones, drivers and detectors» as «examples of how this can be put into practice» «This autonomy is essential so that our defence capability relies on our own resources, because Europe can best strengthen its defence by investing in homegrown technology,» he said, noting that this «is a simple truth, but one that needs to be reiterated and borne in mind».

IEL/ADB // ADB.

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