Portugal creates national structure to manage SAFE European defense funds

The Government has created the SAFE National Structure, a mission structure responsible for the technical coordination, operational management, and monitoring of the national implementation of the European Security Action Instrument (SAFE Instrument). The decision is set out in the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 175/2026, published in the Diário da República, 1st series, no. 167, of August 28, 2026, and signed by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro on August 6.

The new structure manages the funding of €5,841,179,332.00 allocated to Portugal by the Council of the European Union, under Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1106 of May 27, 2025, which created the SAFE Instrument to provide financial assistance to Member States for urgent public investments to strengthen the European defense industry, up to a maximum amount of €150,000,000,000.00.

Framework and background

The SAFE Instrument complements European and national defense investment instruments, taking the form of loans granted by the European Union to requesting Member States. Eligible projects include joint procurement for the acquisition of defense products involving at least one beneficiary Member State and another Member State, a state of the European Free Trade Association that is a member of the European Economic Area, or Ukraine.

Portugal submitted its expression of interest to the European Commission on July 29, 2025, following a working group created by an order of the Minister of National Defense on June 30, 2025. Following the formal request for funding on November 28, 2025, the Council of the European Union approved the allocation, to be formalized through the Loan Agreement and the Operational Agreement, pursuant to Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2025/1106.

Mission and structure

The SAFE National Structure operates under the authority of the member of the Government responsible for the area of national defense, without prejudice to the competencies of the member of the Government responsible for finance regarding financial, budgetary, and European funding matters. It is led by a general coordinator, appointed on secondment by order of the members of the Government for the areas of finance and national defense.

The structure may include, at most:

• Three program coordinators, one of whom must be responsible for the industrial component of the investment plan;
• Two team leaders, one of whom is dedicated to “risk management & compliance”;
• 15 senior technicians or equivalents, with or without a public employment bond.

Recruitment may be carried out through mobility, fixed-term or indefinite employment contracts, public interest secondment, or service commission, prioritizing workers with experience in European funding, public procurement, financial control, and project management. The recruitment of workers without a prior public bond cannot exceed 1/3 of the total members.

Duties and control

Among the structure’s duties, the following stand out: the coordination of the execution of the Operational Agreement, the preparation of semi-annual disbursement requests to the European Commission, in coordination with the Treasury and Finance Entity (ETF), the Budgetary Entity (EO), and the IGCP, E. P. E., and the management of the funds provided. The structure also ensures the application of the VAT exemption provided for in Article 20 of the SAFE Regulation, in coordination with the Directorate-General for Armament and National Defense Heritage (DGAPDN) and idD Portugal Defence — Defense Industry Platform, S.A.

The structure is subject to audit by the Inspectorate-General of Finance, the Court of Auditors, the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors, the European Anti-Fraud Office, and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, and must adopt specific corruption risk prevention and anti-fraud plans. The structure’s mandate runs until June 30, 2031, with the possibility of extension, and the resolution enters into force on the day following its publication.

Impact

The creation of the SAFE National Structure gives substance to the Portuguese strategy for attracting European defense funding within a demanding geopolitical context. By centralizing technical, financial, and industrial coordination, the Government seeks to ensure that the 5,841 million euros translate into reinforced capabilities for the Armed Forces, the replenishment of war reserves, and relevant participation of the national industry, with control and transparency mechanisms before European institutions.

Source: Diário da República, 1st series, no. 167, August 28, 2026, p. 1-5 (official reference: Council of Ministers Resolution no. 175/2026).