“Only with this trust can we avoid risks of nationalisms,” Santos Silva said during a debate with citizens on the future of Europe, in downtown Porto.
According to the minister, the future of Europe requires responding positively on economic growth and leading on “various international agendas” such as climate change and development, as well as combating terrorism.
Asked about the UK’s departure from the EU and its consequences for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Santos Silva said that there could be no doubts but that, in Europe, “the structure of defence is trans-Atlantic” - that is, encompassing the UK and the US.
He also said that the fact that Portugal, like the Netherlands, for example, is an Atlantic country, is a reason for it “not to lose contact with the United Kingdom”. Noting that, where European issues are concerned, “Portugal and the United Kingdom have had different positions” historically, he said that he did not expect “any strategic change” in the relationship after ‘Brexit’.
The European commissioner for competition policy, Margrethe Vestager, who was also at the event, said that the EU “needs NATO” as well as “a very strong partnership between the NATO partners”, but that it is possible for Europe to “be better” within that framework, for example through joint procurement, so “obtaining a better price”.