Lisbon, Jan. 2, 2026 (Lusa) - The Portuguese National Association of Guard Officers considered on Friday that the national guard is being used "as a weapon" to solve problems at Lisbon airport border control, highlighting the attempt to pit "one police force against another".
"Our interpretation is that the national guard is being used as a weapon to resolve a problem that the Public Security Police has already raised on several occasions," the leader of the association of guard officers, Tiago Silva, told Lusa.
The head of the association representing national guard officers considered that there is a "sort of attempt" by the military-style national guard to "put the civil police in order".
"This is basically turning one police force against another," he said, adding: "We are being used as a weapon, as if to say, the police are not complying, the national guard will comply."
"We don't want to take advantage of any opportunity to say that we are more or less capable, so it's not a question of assessing the difficulties that the Public Security Police has had and has mentioned in relation to the airport, but we also cannot be used," he said, recalling that the national guard also has a "glaring" lack of personnel.
Highlighting the National Republican Guard's expertise in border control, particularly at sea, and its work within the European border control agency Frontex, the leader the association of guard officers clarified that the national guard "has always been at the airport" since the days of the fiscal guard.
On Tuesday, the government announced an immediate reinforcement of National Republican Guard military personnel as a contingency measure at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon to reduce waiting times in the arrivals area.
The guard told Lusa that Lisbon airport will be reinforced with 24 military personnel trained as border guards from next Tuesday, who will work in "flexible shifts" made up of teams of 10 members and one supervisor.
These military personnel will work in the arrivals area to check documentation.
Another measure to reduce queues at border control was the immediate suspension of the European border control system for non-EU citizens, known as the European Union's Entry/Exit System (EES), for three months at Lisbon airport. The European Commission has already said that it will ask Portugal for "more details" about this interruption.
The leader of the association of guard officers considered that this suspension "could jeopardise national security", arguing that, for this reason, "political consequences" should be drawn.
As an example, he said that "this lack of supervision and tighter control" could be exploited by organised crime or terrorism networks or other types of crime.
The new European border control system for non-EU citizens came into operation on 12 October in Portugal and the other Schengen countries, and since then waiting times at border control have worsened, particularly at Lisbon airport, with passengers sometimes having to wait several hours.
This situation led the government to set up an emergency task force at the end of October to manage the crisis.
Since 10 December, the second phase of the European border control system for non-EU citizens has been underway with the collection of biometric data, which consists of obtaining photographs and fingerprints from passengers, further complicating the situation.
With the suspension of the EES computer system, passengers outside the Schengen area - who do not belong to the European area of free movement of persons and goods and who need to pass through border controls - are once again being checked by the old system, which involves scanning their passports and, often, manually stamping them to record their entry/exit, with officers verifying their identity and length of stay.
A police source told Lusa that there have been no queues at Lisbon airport in recent days.
CMP/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
