Portugal Report

Portugal’s participation in international missions and launching of such external-action defence initiatives has a well-structured coordination process when it comes to the military component. The minister of foreign affairs and the minister of national defence make a decision, and then they take this decision and the related forces planning to the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSDN), which is the coordination entity for advising the president of the republic on national defence issues. The CSDN then issues an opinion on the participation of Portuguese military forces in external missions arising from Portugal’s international commitments. This structure includes military and political actors: the prime minister; the ministers of defence, foreign affairs, internal administration and finance; the ministers responsible for the industry, energy, transports and communications sectors; the top commanders of the armed forces; representatives of the autonomous regions (i.e. the Azores and Madeira); and representatives of the national parliament.

There are other coordination mechanisms between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of National Defence (MND) that contribute to increasing coherence. These include: holding regular councils of defence and security (MFA+MND); having a diplomatic officer working in the cabinet of the minister of national defence; having a representative of the armed forces (from the cabinet of the chief of the general staff of the armed forces) working in the MFA’s Directorate-General for Foreign Policy; maintaining regular and open communication channels between the MND and Portugal’s permanent representation to the EU in Brussels (which also has a military officer to coordinate with diplomats). However, articulation between political and military sensibilities is not always easy, even within the MND.

From a more comprehensive perspective, the Interministerial Commission for European Affairs and the Interministerial Commission for Foreign Policy (both under the MFA) have regular meetings that are attended by representatives of several ministries and aim to increase the coherence of Portugal’s external actions. The CFSP is discussed at the Inter-ministerial Commission for Foreign Policy, which has political meetings and then technical meetings dedicated to specific topics.

The role of the EEAS and the rise of new structures and institutional linkages at the EU level geared towards responding to external crises and conflicts have also prompted some changes in Portugal aimed at better adapting to these new dynamics. This is taking place within the MFA as well as between the MFA and the MND, but it mainly involves adding competencies to the already-existing institutions rather than creating new structures or strategies. Some achievements resulting from the Global Strategy have motivated Portugal to develop specific policies and measures. This is the case, for example, with PESCO, for which a national implementation plan and a ‘project participation monitoring group’ for following up on PESCO activities (GAPP-PESCO) were created in 2019. The latter’s members include several representatives from the defence establishment (e.g. from the Directorate-General of National Defence Policy, the cabinet of the chief of the general staff of the armed forces, and the individual branches of the military).

The National Authority of Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), which is responsible for emergency civil planning in cases of disasters, crises or war, has both domestic and external competencies, according to its organic law published in 2019 (Republic of Portugal 2019). On the external level, it can participate in foreign assistance missions (by order of the Ministry of Internal Administration) and is responsible for coordinating with the MND efforts that are related to civil emergency planning under the NATO framework. One should note, however, that there is some discontent regarding this arrangement stemming from a lack of clarity regarding responsibilities. While the ANEPC is the authoritative body when it comes to coordinating and participating in civil-protection missions and actions, the ANEPC does not always have the necessary skills and knowledge to spearhead civil emergency planning, which is an activity of a military nature.

When it comes to participation in UN and EU missions, Portugal contributes both military and police personnel. Regarding UN efforts, Portuguese soldiers are serving in stabilisation missions in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), Mali (MINUSMA) and Colombia (UNMCOL), and Portuguese police officers are participating in joint efforts in Colombia (UNVMC), South Sudan (UNMISS), Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), Haiti (MINUJUSTH), Kosovo (UNMIK) and Darfur (UNAMID, a hybrid UN-AU mission). Regarding EU efforts, Portugal currently contributes soldiers to missions in Somalia (EUNAVFOR ATALANTA and EUTM SOMALIA), Mali (EUTM MALI), the southern-central Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR MED) and the Central African Republic (EUTM RCA), the last of which is led by a Portuguese officer and includes some 200 Portuguese soldiers. At the police level – which includes members of the Public Security Police (PSP), the National Republican Guard (GNR), and the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) – Portugal has officers (though sometimes as few as one) deployed on EU missions in Mali (EUCAP), Georgia (EUMM), Niger (EUCAP), Kosovo (EULEX), Ukraine (EUAM), Somalia (EUCAP), the Central African Republic (EUTM RCA), the Palestinian territories (EUPOL COPPS), and Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR ALTHEA).

Portugal faces some difficulties in its efforts to coordinate between security/police forces and political institutions. The large number of internal security forces (e.g. the PSP, the GNR, the SEF, the Judicial Police and the Maritime Police) complicates coordination, there is still a lack of clarity regarding certain roles and responsibilities, and certain procedures and practices (e.g. on information-sharing and data collection) have yet to be harmonised. Whereas the military has an established annual budget for participating in international missions (approved within the state budget), the participation of security forces in international missions involves decisions that are made on an ad hoc, individual basis. For instance, if Portuguese police institutions receive a call for proposals or job posting from the EU (via the permanent representation in Brussels), each police force makes its own assessment regarding whether it is suited to participate rather than making a joint assessment or analysis at the strategic level.

The role of parliament, known as the Assembly of the Republic, has both relevant aspects and shortcomings. The parliament has specific permanent (i.e. standing) committees with representatives drawn from several parliamentary groups (e.g. the European Affairs Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Portuguese Communities). Since 2010, the parliament has also selected priority EU-related issues to receive monitoring and follow-up. For example, in 2018, these priority issues included implementing the EU Global Strategy and fostering greater efficiency and coherence in CFSP implementation. Nevertheless, the parliamentary commissions frequently conduct their work in an isolated manner, and the quality of the debate on different sectoral issues is often undermined by parliamentarians’ lack of knowledge on specific issues or technical aspects.

Regarding external action, and specifically pertaining to the EU, the interactions between Portugal’s government and parliament include regular debates with government representatives (e.g. before and after meetings of the European Council), regular reporting to parliament on policies and measures, and consultation processes. Government representatives also attend parliamentary hearings if requested to do so by the parliament. To name a recent example, in January 2019, at the request of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Portuguese Communities, the minister of defence and the minister of foreign affairs participated in a hearing dedicated to discussing the implementation of the EU’s Global Strategy and PESCO. However, when it comes to participation in international missions, the parliament is only informed of a decision that has already been taken at the government and military levels.

Although civil society organisations in Portugal would like to have a stronger voice in influencing public policies and WGAs related to external actions, they basically play no role in drafting or implementing WGAs. There are exceptions, however, when it comes to activities related to the development-cooperation sector, as members of civil society organisations attend some meetings and participate in the Coordination Unit for Humanitarian and Emergency Aid in the framework of the Strategy for Humanitarian and Emergency Aid, which is overseen by Camoes – Institute for Cooperation and Language, the Portuguese development agency.