Oeiras, Lisbon, Nov. 26, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese and Italian defence ministers on Wednesday signed a declaration of intent on cooperation, particularly in the industrial sector, in a context in which the Italians are bidding to sell three frigates to the Portuguese Navy.
At the São Julião da Barra Fort, in the Oeiras district of Lisbon, alongside his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto, Nuno Melo told journalists that "at this moment, no decision has been made" on the deal.
A deal for the acquisition of two or three frigates, which, according to the Expresso newspaper, could involve between €2-3 billion and is being contested between Italy's Fincantieri and France's Naval.
"What we are doing today is a strategic partnership in different areas - land, sea, air and space - which will be leveraged on the ability of the industries of both countries to cooperate with a strategic vision. We have not discussed any specific equipment," assured the Defence Minister.
Regarding the French and Italian bids for the sale of two or three frigates, Nuno Melo considered that the decision to be taken by Portugal "is fundamentally technical".
"It is the three branches of the armed forces and the Directorate-General for Armament and Defence Assets that will technically evaluate and advise the government on what best serves our needs, also in view of our obligations in the current geopolitical context. There is a vision, there is a purpose, but it is a path that must be taken very calmly," he said.
Nuno Melo then emphasised that this involves large sums of money from the Portuguese State, even saying that these are "investments for a generation".
"We have to ensure that they are very rational and within the scope of our possibilities," he added.
Regarding the timetable for the decision on the acquisition of the new frigates, Nuno Melo began by pointing out that the Government is committed to the SAFE (Security Action Facility for Europe) process, which "will be relevant to the modernisation of the Portuguese armed forces".
The government will have to present its plan in Brussels by the end of the month to secure the €6 billion in European loans from the SAFE programme, which Portugal has to implement by 2030.
"The process will be considered by the European Commission by the end of February. In truth, I would say that what has to do with SAFE begins at the end of November and there is a long way to go until February. At this moment, in November, we are not deciding what we are going to do. In fact, what is decided may well be forecast in November and not materialise in February," he said.
In this context, when commenting on the decision-making timetable, the defence minister referred in passing to Italy's bid to sell frigates to Portugal.
"Portugal has a purpose, a path, a strategic vision and, obviously, Italy is a major industrial power, along with other countries with which Portugal also interacts. What we are doing here today is much better than that, because we are initiating a strategic vision that will help leverage the defence industries with opportunities for both countries, Portugal and Italy," he claimed.
In parallel with the bilateral meeting between the two ministers, also at the Fort of São Julião da Barra, representatives of the defence industries of Portugal and Italy also met.
According to the Expresso newspaper, the delegation from Italy brought eight companies to Lisbon looking to establish partnerships — three are from the Fincantieri group, including Leonardo.
The Portuguese Navy currently has five frigates: Vasco da Gama, Álvares Cabral, Corte-Real, Bartolomeu Dias and D. Francisco de Almeida.
On 5th November, during a hearing in the parliament, defence minister Nuno Melo said that the acquisition of frigates was "increasingly a very strong possibility, given NATO's capability targets".
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