José Sena Foulão / Lusa
The former chief of staff of the Armada, Admiral Henrique Gouveia and Melo
Presidential candidate Henrique Gouveia and Melo considered that the goal of investing 5% of GDP in defense expenses is a goal, “obviously, very ambitious.”
Luís Montenegro This Wednesday was committed to the NATO summit with an expense of 5% of GDP in defense by 2035.
But, For this yearthe prime minister announced that Portugal will reinforce the money for the defense area by the end of the year by about 1 billion euros. The goal is to achieve 2% do PIB.
What was initially foreseen was that this goal was reached only four years from now in 2029.
In a reaction, this Thursday, the former chief of staff of the Armada, the Admiral Henrique Gouveia and Meloconsidered that the goal of 5% of GDP for defense is “Obviously, very ambitious”.
Warning the complexity of the matter, and although it is from the sphere of governance, the presidential candidate assumed that “the goal is, obviously, very ambitious” and that You will have to be done accounts To be evaluated how much Portugal values European security and where the investment bar will be placed.
“Priority without affecting other priorities”
“There is one reality: the investment in defense has to increase. And it has to increase, not because there is a desire for the military or the Military Lóbi to make it happen, but because there is an aggressor within Europe,” said Gouveia and Melo, leaving the warning that “The defense is a priority, which does not mean that this priority has to affect other priorities”.
“This value [de investimento]I don’t know what it is, but it will have to be decided by governments and public opinion as well. All these things will be at stake, ”he added to the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, where he witnessed at the trial of ten defendants accused of injuries and attempts to assault the former Admiral and Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues in 2021.
