I don't want to be dismissive or trite, but good luck to any official who thinks the defence needs of (say) Portugal, align with the defence needs of (say) Poland. Could say the same along the N-S axis as on the E-W axis.
The premise of NATO, which is something over 10 years old IIRC, is that if/when tanks start rolling across (say) Poland, (say) Portugal would be wise to take notice. And maybe proactively do a bit more than just notice.