Defence budget to rise about 1 billion euros by end of this year – PM
At a press conference at the NATO summit, in The Hague, Netherlands, the Portuguese prime minister was asked about the additional amount needed by the end of the year for the country.
The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025 (Lusa) – Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced on Wednesday that Portugal will increase its defence budget by around €1 billion by the end of this year, bringing forward some of the targets set out in the Military Programming Law (LPM).
“It will be around €1 billion, perhaps a little less, of direct investment in equipment acquisitions, infrastructure and the enhancement of our human resources, which points to an effort that is only possible because we have effectively balanced public finances and, within that balance, we do not need additional measures,” Luís Montenegro stressed.
At a press conference at the NATO summit, which ends today in The Hague, Netherlands, the Portuguese prime minister was asked about the additional amount needed by the end of the year for the country to meet the 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) target for military spending, and what concrete steps would be taken to achieve this goal.
Luís Montenegro recalled an initial salary and conditions rise for human resources, decided last year and included in the state budget for 2025.
“Clearly, our investment in this area in 2025 is suffering the positive effects of our having reached a set of decisions that value our human resources and give us greater capacity to attract and retain human resources in our armed forces. That is one of the vectors,” he said.
On the other hand, he continued, the country has a Military Programming Law (LPM) that has “several objectives from the point of view of strengthening capabilities” and the Government is “finalising the possibility of bringing forward some of the targets and prioritising some of the objectives of this investment planning instrument”.
“In due course, as soon as possible, we will announce the specific areas that will receive increased investment in order to bring forward certain objectives, particularly in terms of equipment and even infrastructure,” he added.
Montenegro reiterated that the country will not need an amended state budget for this purpose because funds are still available “within the budget” and from the Ministry of Finance.
The prime minister stressed that the purchase of military equipment “is not exactly a trivial purchase”, as if it were like “going to a car showroom and buying a car”, and even then “sometimes we have to wait some time to fulfil our order”.
Montenegro stressed that it will be necessary to “streamline procurement processes” and “establish commercial relations with suppliers”, adding that the government is already “on the ground” dealing with this matter but “the answers are not so immediate”.
“But there is no doubt that human resources, equipment and infrastructure are the three areas where we will focus most of our investment this year and next,” he explained.
As for the possible reclassification of investments that may have “dual use”, i.e. military and civil, Montenegro said that the executive is working with several ministries – Defence, Foreign Affairs, Economy, Education and the Environment – to this end.