Lisbon, June 26, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal's defence minister said on Thursday that investing an additional billion euros in defence “is not frightening” and that the government will have a feasible plan that may include direct investments in the Armed Forces and other cross-cutting areas.
“One billion euros is a lot of money, and I can say that in the Armed Forces of any country, the more money available, the more money can be invested, because there are numerous needs, and it depends on how you choose to use that money,” said Nuno Melo.
At a lunch at the IDL - Instituto Amaro da Costa, in Lisbon, Nuno Melo said that the investment of one billion euros that Portugal has committed to make to meet the target of 2% of GDP on defence “is reassuringly manageable”: “In defence, the unit of measurement is typically the million, not the euro, so reaching one billion is, thankfully, a matter of a moment,” he said.
‘Portugal will meet the target of investing 2% of GDP in 2025, and with this decision, this government puts an end to a decade of postponements," he stressed, arguing that "this also reinforces the credibility" of the country among its allies and says that "it is moving forward".
Nuno Melo said that the government wants to have “a plan that is credible and feasible,” involving direct investment in the Armed Forces, but also in other areas.
As an example, the minister said that “asbestos decontamination at bases or barracks” or a “wastewater treatment plant at the Alfeite Arsenal” are projects that have “an environmental component and remain part of defence”.
In response to another question, the minister said that Portugal “chooses not to invest in nuclear weapons”.
The minister also pointed out that “every cent invested in the Portuguese Armed Forces is for peace” and that this percentage is “a commitment the country always honours” and should be seen as “an opportunity that the country must seize”.
"This commitment of 2% in 2025 marks a turning point in Defence investment and opens a new chapter in the strengthening of the Portuguese Armed Forces," he argued, indicating that the Government intends to invest only "in what is essential" and "in line with NATO’s capability targets".
In his speech at this institute linked to the CDS-PP, the party he leads, Nuno Melo considered that increased investment in defence could be “a driver for the national economy”.
“National defence will draw on taxpayers’ efforts and in turn give back to the economy; it will ensure jobs, a lot of revenue, and that is an opportunity,” he said.
On Thursday, at the end of the NATO summit, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro committed to reaching 2% of GDP in defence by the end of this year, which, according to government accounts, will require an additional investment of around €1 billion.
In addition to this target, the NATO summit agreed that allies should invest 5% of GDP in defence-related expenditure, of which 3.5% should be spent on traditional military expenditure (armed forces, equipment and training) and an additional 1.5% on investments such as infrastructure and industry by 2035, with a mid-term review in 2029.
FM/ADB // ADB.
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