It is common today, even in the European media, to treat the current crisis of the European Union almost exclusively as an economic crisis. The present article pretends to show that such a focus is not only wrong but is indeed dangerous for the future development of the European Union as a whole. The article will argue that the present economic crisis simply aggravated – and a lot – a crisis of legitimacy through which the European Union has been passing for some time. Showing that the anti-European tendencies which are spreading throughout the countries of the continent threaten the very future of the European project, the article will make suggestion on reforms for the future development of the EU, alerting to the necessity to finally elaborate once again a coherent argument for the continuation of the European integration process which puts the European population at the heart of the political process instead of just austerity.
Este trabalho trata a respeito do processo de integração dos sistemas de educação superior na Europa, região que, desde o fim da segunda guerra mundial, está procurando eliminar as fronteiras em todos os âmbitos. O Processo de Bolonha, homenagem à universidade mais antiga da Europa, é o nome do conjunto dos eventos (reuniões, resoluções e normas) relativos às medidas de implementação dos princípios da reunião de ministros da educação europeus que ocorreu em Bolonha, em 1999, com a finalidade de construir um espaço europeu de educação superior até o ano 2010, cujos objetivos fundamentais encetam, principalmente, para a competitividade do Sistema Europeu de Ensino Superior frente a outras regiões e para a mobilidade e o emprego no Espaço Europeu. Dessa maneira, analisa-se também o papel dos atores sociais nesse processo e a discussão a respeito da natureza da educação superior: um bem público catalisador da solidariedade internacional ou uma mercadoria a ser explorada na construção de um mercado educativo transnacional.
Este artigo aborda criticamente algumas questões de natureza jurídica e política, necessariamente polémicas, colocadas pela integração de Portugal na UE e pela própria ação política desta União, com o objetivo de chamar a atenção para os aspetos que nos pareceram mais relevantesnos 40/30 anos da Constituição e da integração europeia. De entre estas questões assinalamos as seguintes: 1) perceção e modo de acolhimento da integração europeia na Constituição da República Portuguesa, 2) degradação do princípio de democrático e da representação política por força da intervenção da UE na política dos Estados-Membros ou o efeito de esvaziamento da na política interna dos Estados produzido pela ação da UE, 3) globalização, neoliberalismo e a crise poder democrático: produção do efeito de deslocação do locus do poder democrático e da erosão das relações da UE com os Estados-Membros, 4) a UE como espaço de ação dos mercados contra as pessoas. Pretende-se, assim, provocar o debate sobre estes relevantes problemas da integração da UE. ; This article critically approaches some issues of legal and political nature, necessarily controversial, raised by the Portuguese accession to the EU and the own political action of the Union, with the purpose to draw attention to the aspects that seem to be the most relevant in the 40/30 years milestone of the Constitution and the European integration. Amongst these issues I point out the followings: 1) perception and way of receiving the European integration by the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, 2) degradation of the democratic principle and of the political representation due to the intervention of the EU in the member states politics or the effect of empting the internal politics caused by the action of the EU, 3) globalisation, neoliberalism and the crisis of the democratic power: producing the effect of moving the locus of the democratic powerand the erosion in the relations of the EU with the member states, 4) the EU as a space of action of the market against people. I intend, then, to provoke the debate on these relevant problems of the EU integration.
Este artigo apresenta uma avaliação sobre a história da escolha constitucional portuguesa pelo caminho do projeto europeu. Reflete ainda sobre os aspetos jurídico-políticos da construção do Portugal europeu e dos sentidos de soberania e autodeterminação no contexto da integração europeia, destacando que no presente não se conhecem os responsáveis pela sua condução política, em especial quando considerada a crise das dívidas soberanas. ; This article presents an assessment on the history of the Portuguese constitutional option for the European project path. It also reflects about the juridical-political aspects of the construction of the European Portugal and the meanings of sovereignty and self-determination in the context of the European integration, highlighting that in the present the ones responsible for its political conduction are not known, especially when we consider the crisis of the sovereign debts.
The assumptions and lessons from the main theories of European integration (neofunctionalism and intergovernmentalism) are depicted in order to understand their explanatory potential for the creation and evolution of Economic and Monetary Union. Since both theories come from international relations theories, their restrictions on the context of European integration are obvious. Notwithstanding both theories explain different moments of European monetary integration, they need to be supplemented by other theoretical approaches that capture the particularisms of European integration. Thus, the role of ideas, the awareness of the Europeanisation of politics, and the influence of powerful epistemic communities come to the surface. Adapted from the source document.
The new Lisbon Treaty is a crucial moment in the history of European integration. With the new treaty, the European Union will have at its disposal important instruments to consolidate its internal & external policies. The most important changes deal with foreign, security & defense policies, creating new mechanisms that should strengthen those dimensions. The article argues that the new security & defense policies will become a major catalyst of European integration & that Portugal must be at the core of CSDP right from the start. Adapted from the source document.
Esta pesquisa analisou o Brexit em uma perspectiva histórica, focando a conturbada relação entre a Europa continental e o Reino Unido ao longo do século XX, com ênfase no período pós Segunda Guerra Mundial. Foi utilizado o conceito de path dependency para argumentar sobre o papel de fatores históricos e decisões do passado, embora tomados em outras circunstâncias, ainda com força para influenciar o presente, para entender o Brexit. A premissa básica que será apresentada no ensaio é que o Reino Unido nunca participou de fato da ideia da Europa e sempre se viu como um país diferente por sua história e seu papel no mundo. Quando entrou, foi com uma perna só, a outra sempre ficou atrás, inclusive devido às especificidades de sua estrutura econômica herdada do passado, em particular no que diz respeito à agricultura. Desta forma, defende-se que, embora longe de ter sido inevitável, se tratou de um fenômeno limitado ao Reino Unido que tinha pouquíssima probabilidade de se repetir em outros países da União Europeia. ; This research analyzed Brexit in a historical perspective, focusing on the specific relation between continental Europe and the United Kingdom during the XX Century, with emphasis on the period after the Second World War. The concept of path dependency was used to explore the historical factors and decision taken in the past, which, although in different circumstances, still influence the present and are useful to understand the Brexit. The basic premises that will be presented is that the UK in fact never identified itself with the idea of Europe as developed by the Continental members. It always saw itself as a country with a different history and a different role in the world. When it got its membership, the country only entered with one leg, keeping the other always outside. This also reflects the different configuration of its economic structure, specifically with regard to agriculture. By this, although not at all inevitable, it will be defended that we are dealing with a very British phenomenon which had extremely little chance to be repeated by other countries of the European Union.
The European project has enjoyed a substantive support from both elite and masses in Portugal. Since the country joined the ECC, in 1986, the main political parties have been strong supporters of Europe. In recent years, however, political and economic crises have undermined the support for the European project. In this paper we produce a preliminary analysis of the competition dimensions in the 2014 European elections. We empirically analyze the position of the five most important Portuguese political parties towards European integration, the Euro, debt renegotiation, Eurobonds, and changes in pensions in a context that fosters contestation of European integration and its outputs. Adapted from the source document.
The article argues that the causes behind the shortcomings & weaknesses of the democratic institutions of any EU member, including those of Portugal, will not be ameliorated by the approval & adoption of the European Constitution. European integration, much like globalization, is not a passing or one-time phenomenon, but a long-range evolutionary process, as is the further development & refinement of democratic institutions. European integration, along with democratic reforms, will continue with or without the ratification of the Constitution. The article compares & contrasts sections of the Portuguese Constitution & proposed European Constitution, the Portuguese Parliament & the proposed European Parliament, as well as the Portuguese executive & the proposed European executive. R. Young
The purpose of this article is to use the integration of Spain & Portugal into the European Union as an opportunity to reflect on what has happened to both countries since 1986. It examines the integration process & how it has affected political, economic & social developments in Portugal & in Spain over the last two decades. It identifies the basic changes in the economies & societies of Portugal & Spain that occurred as a result of European integration. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.
Portugal has held the Presidency of the European Council three times since accession in 1986. In 1991, as in 2000 or in 2007 the challenge has always been how to reconcile the national interests of a small member state with the broader priorities, expectations & challenges that the EU has to address. Through this learning process, Portugal's commitment to European integration & the EU international relations has evolved significantly. Adapted from the source document.
The aim of the article is to present, based on theoretical studies of integration, the evolution of this process in Latin America and, most recently, in South America. Based on these studies, the goal is to analyze the role played by Brazil in the process, which defines as priorities of its foreign policy a regional and global framework for its international action that is based on both cooperation and power projection.The research has been conducted based on theories of integration, an historical background on Latin American integration and in Brazilian foreign policy, through its contemporary agenda. The answer was based on a comparative agenda and in a bibliographical critical analysis of the research material.The main findings of the paper point out that Latin American integration has specific features linked to the economic, political and stragetic realities of the continent that show the limitations of some theories applied to the European process, also that it depends on Brazilian foreign policy actions, that still sees the region as instrumental to its interests. So, Brazil sometimes fail to fulfill some requisites of integration that are essential to sustain its projects. Therefore, there is a cycle of enlargement and deepening of regional integration process in this political space that point out to the need of a more sustained compromise of Brazilian foreign policy towards these projects. If Brazil continues not to sustain these projects, they will lose momentum and significance once more, increasing power asymmetries in the region.
The democratization process which was launched by the United Nations mission in Kosovo on June in, 1999 & the unilateral declaration of independence of the Serbian province on February 17, 2008 are the landmarks that signal the democratic transition & the creation of the new state in Kosovo. International recognition of Pristina's declaration in contested by the Seth political elite, while at the same time the democratic government of Serbia is making good progress in its process of European integration, as shown by the arrest & extradition of Radovan Karadzic. Adapted from the source document.
