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NATO

Nuno Melo

Nuno Melo Walks Into the Brussels Defence Ministers Meeting on Tuesday 12 May Saying He Is 'Tendentially Against' a European Army — Portugal Lines Up With the NATO-Pillar Camp Against the Spanish Push for an EU Force

Defence Minister Nuno Melo told reporters at the EU defence ministers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 12 May 2026 that he is 'tendentially against' a European army, lining Portugal up behind a strengthened NATO European pillar instead of the Spanish push for an autonomous EU force.

Military

Portugal's F-16AM Detachment in Estonia Tops Ten Russian Intercepts in Five Weeks — Tuesday's Latest Alpha Scramble From Ämari Air Base Reframes the NATO 1.18%-of-GDP Argument as Berlin Pushes Lisbon Toward 2% by 2029 and 5% by 2035

Two F-16AM Fighting Falcons from Portugal's Air Force detachment at Ämari Air Base in Estonia scrambled on Tuesday to intercept Russian aircraft — the roughly tenth Alpha Scramble since the four-month NATO eAP rotation began on 1 April with four jets and 95 personnel.

Defence

Defence Minister Asks the PGR for a Legal Opinion on the NATO Ammunition Depot at Sesimbra-Seixal — Half a Century of Illegal Construction Inside the Military Servitude Zone, Demolition Orders Pending and Population Relocation on the Table

Nuno Melo's 2 April letter asks the PGR three questions about the NATO ammunition depot at Sesimbra-Seixal: how to execute pending demolition orders, whether to declare public-utility expropriation, and how to coordinate with the Natura 2000 / REN / ZEC overlay.