Portugal aims to reach NATO's defence spending goal without harming finances

15/7/2025 7:17

Portugal is preparing a "credible" plan of gradual annual increases in defence spending to reach NATO's new target of 5% of gross domestic product by

2035 without jeopardising its finances, the country's prime minister said on Monday.



Luis Montenegro said that despite very large planned defence expenditures, he counted on the economy's ability to create more wealth and on the return from those investments to the rest of the economy.



"Portugal wants to make small annual increases that translate into a credible upward trajectory to reach the 5% target by 2035. We will manage it in an appropriate way for state budget execution", he told a conference on defence.



At a NATO summit in The Hague three weeks ago, leaders agreed to hike the alliance's defence spending target to 5% over the next decade, with 3.5% dedicated to core defence and 1.5% to dual-use investments, such as infrastructure.



The objective will be reassessed in 2029.