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CSDN Meeting

Meeting of the Supreme Council for National Defence

The Supreme Council for National Defence (CSDN) held an ordinary meeting, under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic.

At the end of the meeting, held in the Palace of Belém, the following Official communiqué was disclosed:

“The Council held an ordinary meeting, where the Minister of Defence expounded the development in the reform of National Defence and in the Armed Forces.

The Minister of Defence also provided information on the work related to the subsequent cycle to the recently approved National Defence Strategic Concept.

Meanwhile, the Council approved, in the terms of item a) of §2 of article No. 17 of the Law of National Defence, with reference to its administrative competence, a proposal from the Government on changes to the fixed component of the Forces System, in the areas of military health (Armed Forces Hospital) and of the Army training system (School of Arms).

The Government presented two proposals for bills, concerning the Law of National Defence and the Basic Law of Organization of the Armed Forces. The Council after the proposals having been expounded and discussed considered these as admissible for consideration by the Government and, later, for submission to Parliament.

The Council provided a favourable view on the Government’s proposal over the deployment of Armed Forces Detachments in missions abroad in 2014, of which the following deserve emphasis:

• The reinforcement by 5 military staff in the training mission of the European Union in Mali;
• The reduction of 60 military staff in the NATO mission in Afghanistan;
• The following new missions:

- Policing mission in the Lithuanian airspace, under the aegis of NATO, employing 6 F16 fighters and 70 military staff, over 4 months;
- Support mission in the Central African Republic, under the aegis of the European Union, employing a C-130 aircraft and 47 military staff, during 1 month, with the means stationed in Libreville, Gabon;
- Support mission to the security operations for the disposal of chemical weapons in Syria, under the aegis of the United Nations, employing one P3C aircraft and 22 military staff, in the Mediterranean.”