PM confirms national force ready to join NATO rapid reaction force

  • Lusa
  • 24 March 2022

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, António Costa reiterated that Portugal has forces in a state of five-day readiness - totalling 1,049 troops - to join NATO's rapid reaction force.

The prime minister on Thursday reiterated that Portugal has forces “in a state of readiness” to participate in NATO’s rapid reaction force, but said he hoped that its use would not be necessary, because it would mean the need to strengthen deterrence.

Speaking to journalists on arrival at NATO headquarters in Brussels, António Costa reiterated that Portugal has forces in a state of five-day readiness – totalling 1,049 troops – to join NATO’s rapid reaction force.

However, Costa stressed that their commitment is “a decision that rests exclusively” with the Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, US General Tod D. Wolters.

“Our forces are at his command, they are part of the rapid reaction force, and in a state of five-day readiness to move in if and when NATO’s military commander for Europe so decides,” he stressed.

António Costa stressed, however, that he hopes this “will not be necessary” because “it would be a sign” that NATO needs to “reinforce the message of deterrence and make it clear that it is a defensive alliance”.

The Prime Minister recalled that, within the Alliance, Portugal has strengthened its participation “in the set of deterrence contributions in the countries of eastern NATO”.

“As is known, in addition to the forces that we have in a state of readiness to respond and intervene in the case of NATO’s rapid intervention forces, we currently have ready – and it is already starting to be projected onto the ground – a company that will reinforce the battalions of permanent combat that are based in Romania,” he said.

In addition, outside the NATO framework, Costa also highlighted that Portugal has contributed to helping Ukraine within the European Union (EU) framework, by applying “all the sanctions that have been decreed” and which he acknowledged have a “heavy effect” on the Portuguese economy.

“We have [also] been providing both humanitarian and material support – namely military – on the basis of the bilateral relationship with Ukraine itself,” he stressed.

In the framework of the Atlantic Alliance, Portugal participates in 2022 in the NATO ‘Response Force’, a joint multinational high-readiness force capable of ensuring a rapid military response to an emerging crisis, which includes three different readiness forces.

The highest readiness force, called `Very High Readiness Joint Task Force’ (VJTF), foresees the commitment of up to 1049 Portuguese military personnel, 1 ship, 162 tactical vehicles and 7 aircraft.

The NATO heads of state and government are meeting in person today, on the day that marks exactly one month since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, on February 24, and the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, is expected to participate by videoconference.