Suchergebnisse

Portugal's negotiations for accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) took place at the same time as the country negotiated and implemented the pre-accession aid programme that aimed at the development of the Portuguese economy. In a historical context where the concept of a pre-accession strategy did not officially exist as such, the EEC was already establishing the basis for the future Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) which similarly aimed at preparing candidates to fulfil their obligations as member states. Taking stock of the existing literature on enlargement and benefiting from further archive research, this article aims to analyse how the granting of pre-accession aid was negotiated between the EEC and Portugal and to make a concise assessment of its implementation in the country.

Abstract
Portugal joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1986 and, after a relatively small six-year apprenticeship period, in which the country met the accession terms and started learning the Community policy-making processes, held its first Council's presidency in 1992. This article analyses broadly the performance of the first Portuguese Council's presidency, from the point of view of both Portuguese history and the history of the EEC/European Union. It highlights the distinctive features of the Portuguese presidency, and provides an overview of the presidency's programme and its ensuing results. It also shows how Portugal handled the early years of membership and presidency planning, while running the presidency provided an opportunity to show its European political skills and enhance its state image.

UID/HIS/04209/2013 ; In the 1960s and early 1970s, Portugal's first two attempts to become more involved with the European Economic Community (EEC) and gain membership met with failure, mainly for one reason: the undemocratic nature of the Portuguese regime. In 1977, only three years after the overturn of the Estado Novo, Portugal applied to become a full member of the EEC with new political credentials. This article contributes to the understanding of the link between democracy and accession to the EEC, assessing the role that democratic principles, acknowledged in several political reports and enshrined in the Treaty of Rome, played at a very early stage in the Portuguese negotiations. ; publishersversion ; published