This position was conveyed by António Costa at a joint press conference with the Romanian prime minister, Nicolae Ciucâ, in Bucharest, after the defense ministers of the two countries signed a military cooperation agreement that deepens and revises an earlier 1995 agreement.

Asked if Portugal admits to prolonging its military missions in eastern Europe, if the war in Ukraine continues, António Costa replied: “We are under the orders of the European NATO command”.

“If this is considered necessary and appropriate by NATO's European command, we will not only be able to maintain the forces we have, but also to reinforce them in new missions. We have in reserve more forces to commit, if that is the determination of the European NATO command”, said the prime minister.