The Minister of Defense said that he is preparing a “legislative package” that meets the priorities of the Armed Forces

The Defense Minister said this Wednesday that the government is working on a package of legislation that it will present “soon” to “respond” to the identified priorities following military exercises in which he praised the “readiness and effectiveness” of the army. .

Nuno Melo said the government is “working very intensively on a package of laws” that will be presented “soon” and which will “respond” to priorities such as modernizing equipment and the ability to attract and retain human resources.

Without specifying what exactly was planned to be achieved, Nuno Melo listed that the priorities were “increasing the dignity of the FA, the need to ensure better conditions regarding the recruitment and retention of military personnel in the FA, as well as ex-combatants.”

The Minister of National Defense (MDN) was this Wednesday at the military field of Santa Margarida in the municipality of Constancia (Santarem) to observe the final live-fire exercise of the Orion 24, in which more than 1,400 military personnel from four countries have taken part since April 29 NATO and is the largest annual exercise conducted by the Portuguese army.

Recalling that it was there, on the military field of Santa Margarida, that he spent his “first week in the field as a cadet at the Santarem Cavalry Practical School,” Nuno Melo praised the degree of “readiness and efficiency” of the Portuguese army. , at the end of the international exercise Orion 24, highlighting interoperability among NATO countries as an important role.

“Interoperability is not important, it is important. The entire legislative process in the European institutions and the strategy developed within NATO are aimed at investments that ensure this interoperability, providing the Armed Forces with much greater effectiveness, especially in the event of combat operations,” he said.

Nuno Melo stressed the “importance of training and exercises,” considering them fundamental to “guaranteeing the effectiveness and readiness of the army, especially within the framework of NATO Article 5,” which involves 1,400 soldiers.

As the government official emphasized, the Armed Forces “with what they have at their disposal at the moment are an exceptional example of efficiency and combat readiness.”

When asked about the needs and priorities identified by the FA and what is being done to address them, Nuno Melo also said that “it is impossible to do in one month what has not been done for eight years.”

MDN was also asked whether it continues to defend military service as a punishment for petty crimes, sending submissions to a parliamentary committee today where it will be considered.

“I would consider it disrespectful to pollute what is happening here today with issues that are secondary,” said Nuno Melo, trying to send an explanation by the end of the day to the Assembly of the Republic, the place he considered “the right one.” place”.

This Wednesday, the Minister of Defense will be heard in the Assembly of the Republic on his statements about compulsory military service as an alternative punishment for young people who commit petty crimes, a measure that Nuno Melo, however, denied.