"Presidents can change, governments can change, parliamentary majorities can change, but Portugal’s commitment to NATO will not change", Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said at the 15th anniversary of the NATO Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC), in Lisbon.

Speaking in English, he said that NATO, which was created in 1949, had a role that was greater than just the military sphere, as the “guardian of the principle of the rule of law, dialogue and respect for human life".