António Cotrim / Lusa
The Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento
Finance Minister also spoke of the hypothesis of making joint purchases in the EU and the sale of a military plane produced in Portugal.
Portugal and nine other countries of the European Union (EU) have already expressed the European Commission interest in resorting to the European Program of 150 billion euros in loans to favorable conditions to reinforce the defense.
The information was advanced to Lusa agency by European sources, which indicated that Portugal – Like Poland, France, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Greece and Latvia – They have already expressed “strong interest” in obtaining such loans.
The same sources pointed out that there was no formalization yet, since the deadline for this is late July, and that there are no allocation envelopes yet.
Joint Purchases at EU and Sale of KC-390
In an interview with Lusa agency published over the weekend, Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento admitted that the government could resort to the program and defended joint acquisitions in the EUnamely for Sale of a military plane produced in Portugal.
“It is possible that […] SEE TO SAFE, although the conditions of financing of the Safe, at this time, are not particularly more favorable than the funding conditions of the Republic [portuguesa]But we are analyzing all the alternatives that exist, ”said Joaquim Miranda Sarmento.
A few days from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), marked by strong geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine and the need to increase investment in security -the ruler also pointed out that “there is a military plane that is produced in Portugal and the [Ministério da] Defense is currently developing agreements with other countries to buy this plane. ”
The idea would not only be that Portugal benefited from these community loans (initiative designated as Safe), but also be part of European projectscan also sell equipment produced in the country.
“What the Ministry of Defense is doing […] It is to establish protocols with other countries so that these countries can acquire this plane that is mostly produced in Portugal, ”said Joaquim Miranda Sarmento in the interview with Lusa.
The Finance Minister alluded to KC-390a twin -engine plane produced with components made in Évora and the Brazilian company Embraer. It is a multifaceted military transport plane for tactical and logistics use, which because it has intercontinental reach can be used in military operations, namely NATO.
The first Portuguese Air Force KC-390 aircraft (FAP) in October 2023 its operating debut mission, on a transatlantic flight between Brazil and Portugal, with land base ground No. 11 of Beja (BA11).
In late May, the EU council adopted this package of 150 billion euros on loans to favorable conditions for joint purchases that reinforce community defense, which countries can apply to Brussels by the end of the year.
It is expected to be that this loan package, designated as Safe, facilitates joint purchases of military material between the Member States and is funded through joint debt issued by the EU and then transferred in the form of credits to the Member States requesting them.
This new European credit instrument under extraordinary circumstances is one of the measures of the EU defense.
Still encompassed in this European plan are 650 billion euros in a budgetary space that countries can have to invest in defense, after activating the National EU budgetary rules that allows to exclude up to 1.5% of GDP in deficit boundaries. Lisbon has had ‘green light’ from Brussels to do so.
NATO’s 32 allies gather on Tuesday and Wednesday in summit in the Dutch city of The Hague under the urgency of spending more in defense.
It is recalled that the finance minister said in March that the government refuses to reinforce the investment in defense if this compromises the surplus of public accounts or increasing debt weight.
