On 18 January 1971, the Portuguese Foreign Ministry sends to its Diplomatic Missions abroad a confidential circular to inform them of the operation and aims of the exploratory talks which began on 7 January in Brussels between Ruy Teixeira Guerra, Head of the Portuguese Delegation, and Edmond Wellenstein, Director-General of Foreign Trade at the Commission of the European Communities.

On 22 July 1972, in Brussels, the European Economic Community (EEC) and the Portuguese Republic sign an agreement which provides for the dismantling of tariffs on industrial goods and on certain agricultural products.

On 22 July 1972, at the signing in Brussels of the Trade Agreement between Portugal and the European Economic Community (EEC), Rui Patrício, Portuguese Foreign Minister, delivers an address in which he places particular emphasis on the need to deepen relations and extend the areas of cooperation between Portugal and the European Communities.

In 1974, General António de Spínola, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces in Africa, is dismissed for having published his book entitled Portugal e o Futuro. Análise da conjuntura nacional [‘Portugal and the Future'] in which he advocates an end to the colonial wars. His dismissal incites military insurgents to take part in the coup d'état of 25 April 1974 and what becomes known as the ‘Carnation Revolution'.

On 25 April 1974, at the outset of the military revolt and the ‘Revolution of the Carnations', Portuguese soldiers take up their positions in the centre of Lisbon.

On 25 April 1974, during the ‘Carnation Revolution’, the Portuguese army is cheered by the crowds of people gathered in the streets of central Lisbon.

On 25 April 1974, reporting on the early stages of the military insurrection and the ‘Carnation Revolution’, the Portuguese daily newspaper Diário de Notícias assesses the situation in Lisbon.

On 26 April 1974, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the consequences of the military insurrection and of the ‘Carnation Revolution’ in Portugal and analyses the ambitions of the new military regime.

On 29 April 1974, four days after the military coup d'état in Portugal, the Junta for National Salvation holds its first press conference. From left to right: Captain António Alva Rosa Coutinho, Captain José Baptista Pinheiro de Azevedo, General Francisco da Costa Gomes, General António de Spínola, Brigadier Jaime Silvério Marques and Colonel Carlos Galvão de Melo.

In April 1974, the French cartoonist, Plantu, illustrates the consequences of the military coup d’état and the ‘Carnation Revolution’ in Portugal and looks at the ambitions of the new military regime.

On 1 May 1974, crowds of people throng the streets and squares of Lisbon to celebrate the overthrow, one week previously, of the Salazar dictatorship.

On 19 November 1974, Roger Hastert, Luxembourg Ambassador to the Netherlands, forwards to Gaston Thorn, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, a letter in which he gives an account of his meeting with Mr G. Meijer, Special Adviser to Max van der Stoel, Netherlands Foreign Minister, on the process of political democratisation in Portugal.

Following the ‘Carnation Revolution’ of spring 1974, all monuments erected to the glory of the Salazar regime are destroyed. In the village of Santa Comba Dão, birthplace of António de Oliveira Salazar, a statue of the former Head of State is decapitated.

‘We never want to be apart again …’ On 13 March 1975, eleven months after the military coup and the beginning of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, Fritz Behrendt, a Dutch cartoonist originally from Berlin, paints an ironic picture of the country’s future and speculates on the process of political democratisation in Portugal and the ambitions of the country’s military.

In 1975, a soldier symbolically places a carnation and a rose in his rifle, as Portugal prepares to celebrate 1 May as a recently liberated nation.

On 25 April 1975, General Francisco da Costa Gomes (right), President of the Portuguese Republic, casts his vote in the elections held in Lisbon for the National Constituent Assembly.

On 3 June 1975, Portugal’s National Constituent Assembly holds its first session following the elections of 25 April, won by the Socialists under the leadership of Mário Soares.

On 25 July 1975, in an article published in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro, Raymond Aron comments on the predicament of French political leaders in the light of the impact of the political crisis in Portugal which pits the Socialist Party of Mário Soares against the Communists supported by the Movement of the Armed Forces (MFA).

In April 1976, the German cartoonist Horst Haitzinger takes an ironic look at the outcome of the legislative elections held in Portugal on 25 April 1976 — the date of entry into force of the new Portuguese Constitution — which result in the rise of the Socialist Party and the decline of the Communist Party.

On 11 June 1976, the Portuguese and European Commission Delegations issue a joint press release in which they set out the scope of the Additional Protocol to the 1972 Free Trade Agreement and of the Financial Protocol, concluded two days earlier in Brussels.

On 16 July 1976, Mário Soares, Socialist Prime Minister of Portugal, convenes his first constitutional government.

On 3 August 1976, the first Portuguese Constitutional Government, led by the Socialist Prime Minister, Mário Soares, publishes its decisions concerning Portugal’s foreign policy.

Financial Protocol between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the Portuguese Republic which was signed on 20 September 1976 and entered into force on 1 November 1978. This Protocol, which aimed to make emergency aid available to Portugal with a view to promoting the accelerated development of its economy, is an integral part of the Agreement of 22 July 1972 between the EEC and the Portuguese Republic.

Additional Protocol to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Portuguese Republic dated 22 July 1972. This Protocol, which was signed on 20 September 1976 and which entered into force on 1 November 1978, includes provisions concerning trade measures and cooperation in the area of social policy as well as industrial, technological and financial cooperation.

On 20 September 1976, the European Economic Community and the Portuguese Republic conclude an Interim Agreement designed to bring into force some of the provisions of the Additional Protocol, which they sign the same day, pending its entry into force.

On 20 September 1976, in Brussels, José Manuel de Medeiros Ferreira (left), Portuguese Foreign Minister, Max van der Stoel (centre), Netherlands Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Communities, and François-Xavier Ortoli (right), President of the European Commission, sign two protocols and an interim trade agreement aimed at extending the Free Trade Agreement of 22 July 1972 in view of Portugal’s application for accession to the European Communities.

On 20 September 1976, in Brussels, at the signing of the Interim Agreement, the Additional Protocol and the Financial Protocol between Portugal and the European Economic Community (EEC), José Manuel Medeiros Ferreira, Portuguese Foreign Minister, delivers an address in which he declares, for the first time, Portugal’s intention to submit an application for accession to the European Communities.

On 7–8 March 1977, Emanuele Gazzo, Editor-in-Chief of Agence Europe, emphasises the need for the Nine to give a clear and rapid political response to Portugal’s forthcoming application for accession to the European Communities.

On 8 March 1977, the French daily newspaper L’Aurore welcomes the unwavering commitment to Europe of Mário Soares, Portuguese Prime Minister.

On 11 March 1977, Roy Jenkins (left), President of the European Commission, welcomes to Brussels Mário Soares (centre), Portuguese Prime Minister, during his tour of the capitals of the nine Member States of the European Communities, to which Portugal is to submit its official application for accession on 28 March.

On 11 March 1977, during a visit to the European Commission, Mário Soares, Portuguese Prime Minister, delivers an address in which he describes his country’s accession to the European Communities as an economic and political challenge.

On 18 March 1977, Mário Soares, Portuguese Prime Minister, makes a statement to the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament) on the proposed accession of Portugal to the European Economic Community (EEC) and outlines the outcome of his tour of the capital cities of the nine Member States of the European Communities.

On 29 March 1977, the Lisbon daily newspaper Diário de Notícias comments on the political implications of the visit of Mário Soares, Portuguese Prime Minister, to his Norwegian counterpart, Odvar Nordli.

Am 19. Mai 1978 übergibt die Europäische Kommission dem Rat eine positive Stellungnahme zur schnellen Aufnahme von Verhandlungen über den Beitritt Portugals zur Europäischen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft (EWG), obwohl weiterhin eine Reihe wirtschaftlicher Probleme bestehen.

On 6 June 1978, the Council of the European Communities delivers a favourable opinion on Portugal’s application for accession to the European Communities.

On 14 September 1978, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the attitude of the Portuguese people towards their country’s possible accession to the European Economic Community (EEC).

On 29 March 1979, Pedro Pires de Miranda (right), former Portuguese Minister for Trade and Tourism, takes over from Victor Manuel Ribeiro Constâncio, who has resigned as President of the Portuguese Commission for European Integration entrusted with Portugal’s negotiations for accession to the European Communities. He is welcomed by Manuel Jacinto Nunes (left), Portuguese Deputy Prime Minister, and by Carlos Alberto da Mota Pinto (centre), Portuguese Prime Minister.

On 19 June 1980, Roy Jenkins (left), President of the European Commission, welcomes to Brussels Francisco Sá Carneiro (right), Portuguese Prime Minister, who expresses his government’s wish to see a rapid conclusion to the negotiations on Portugal’s accession to the European Communities.

On 4 September 1981, Francisco Pinto Balsemão, Social Democrat Prime Minister of the eighth Portuguese Constitutional Government, outlines to the Members of the Portuguese Parliament the main thrust of his European policy, placing particular emphasis on the significant changes taking place in the country as a result of the process of accession to the European Communities.

On 26 January 1982, Gaston Thorn, President of the Commission of the European Communities, welcomes to Brussels Pinto Balsemão, Portuguese Prime Minister, in connection with the negotiations for Portugal's accession to the European Communities.

On 3 December 1982, in Brussels, with a view to Portugal’s accession to the European Communities, the European Economic Community (EEC) and the Portuguese Republic sign a Transitional Protocol on the dismantling of tariffs.

On 28 October 1983, during the negotiations on Portugal's accession to the European Communities, Lorenzo Natali (right), Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Enlargement, pays a working visit to Lisbon where he is welcomed by Jaime Gama (left), Portuguese Foreign Minister.

On 9 July 1984, during the negotiations on Portugal's accession to the European Communities, Gaston Thorn (left), President of the European Commission, pays an official visit to Lisbon where he is welcomed by General António Ramalho Eanes (right), President of the Portuguese Republic.

Am 24. Oktober 1984 unterzeichnen Garrett Fitzgerald, irischer Premierminister und amtierender Vorsitzender im Rat der Europäischen Gemeinschaften, Mário Soares, portugiesischer Premierminister, und Lorenzo Natali, Vizepräsident der Europäischen Kommission und verantwortlich für Erweiterungsfragen, in Dublin eine gemeinsame Erklärung, in der sie ihren Willen zum Ausdruck bringen, den Beitritt Portugals zu den Europäischen Gemeinschaften zum 1. Januar 1986 zu vollziehen.

On 24 October 1984, in Dublin, Garrett FitzGerald (right), Irish Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Communities, Mário Soares (left), Portuguese Prime Minister, and Lorenzo Natali, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Enlargement, sign a Joint Declaration in which they express their wish for Portugal's accession to the European Communities to take effect on 1 January 1986.

On 11 April 1985, as debates are held in the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament) on Portugal’s accession to the European Communities, the Deputy Prime Minister, Rui Machete, reviews the progress of the negotiations and welcomes the good relations between the Portuguese leaders.

On 11 April 1985, as debates are held in the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament) on Portugal’s accession to the European Communities, Joaquim Jorge Magalhães Mota, MP and Member of the Independent Social Democratic Action (ASDI), emphasises the positive aspects of accession for the country’s future.

On 11 April 1985, as debates are held in the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament) on Portugal’s accession to the European Communities, Raul Morais e Castro, MP and Member of the Portuguese Democratic Movement/Democratic Electoral Commission (MDP/CDE), outlines the reasons for his party’s opposition to accession.

On 11 April 1985, as debates are held in the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament) on Portugal’s accession to the European Communities, Carlos Carvalhas, Member of Parliament, outlines the reasons why the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) is opposed to accession.

On 12 April 1985, as debates are held in the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament) on Portugal’s accession to the European Communities, Lucas Pires, MP and Member of the Democratic and Social Centre/People’s Party (CDS/PP), considers accession to be ‘a historic event’.

On 18 December 1984, with a view to Portugal’s accession to the European Communities, the European Economic Community (EEC) decides to grant financial aid to Portugal for the improvement of its agricultural and fisheries structures.

On 11 June 1985, commenting on the signing, the following day in Lisbon, of the Accession Treaty of Portugal to the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), the Belgian newspaper Le Soir paints a negative picture of the country’s economic situation.

On 11 June 1985, Mário Soares, Portuguese Prime Minister, gives an interview to the French daily newspaper Le Monde in which he emphasises the historic significance of his country’s accession to the European Economic Community (EEC).

On 12 June 1985, in the Belém Palace, Lisbon, General António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes, President of the Portuguese Republic, welcomes the representatives of the States signatory to Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), signed later that day.

On 12 June 1985, in Lisbon, the Portuguese Prime Minister, Mario Soares, and his Foreign Minister, Jaime Gama, sign the Accession Treaty between Portugal and the European Economic Community (EEC).

On 12 June 1985, in the arcaded courtyard of the Monastery of the Hieronymites in Belém, Lisbon, an official ceremony is held to mark the signing of Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom).

On 12 June 1985, in Lisbon, the representatives of the Member States of the European Communities sign Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom).

On 12 June 1985, in Lisbon, Mário Soares, Portuguese Prime Minister, welcomes the signing of Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom). In the front row, from left to right: Jacques F. Poos, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, Garrett FitzGerald, Irish Prime Minister, Mário Soares, Portuguese Prime Minister (standing), Giulio Andreotti, Italian Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Communities, Felipe González Márquez, Spanish Prime Minister, Laurent Fabius, French Prime Minister, and Yannis Haralambopoulos, Greek Foreign Minister.

On 12 June 1985, the day that Portugal's Treaty of Accession to the European Communities is signed in Lisbon, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir analyses the position of the country's fishermen and farmers.

On 12 June 1985, the day of the signing in Lisbon of Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Communities, the Lisbon daily newspaper Diário Popular gives an account of the proceedings at the official ceremonies.

On 12 June 1985, the Lisbon daily newspaper Diário Popular analyses the impact of Portugal’s accession to the European Communities on the daily lives of Portuguese citizens, including consumers, tourists and farmers.

On 12 June 1985, the Lisbon daily newspaper Diário Popular reports on the words spoken by António Marta, Chairman of the Portuguese Parliament Committee on European Integration, who welcomes the way in which Portugal negotiated the terms of its accession to the European Communities while safeguarding its national interests.

On 12 June 1985, the Lisbon daily newspaper Diário Popular reports on the address given in Lisbon by Lorenzo Natali, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Enlargement, who emphasises the political will of the European Communities and welcomes the courageous step of the enlargement to include the Iberian Peninsula.

On 12 June 1985, the Lisbon daily newspaper Correio da Manhã focuses on the preparations for the ceremony, held that day in Lisbon, to mark the signing of Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Communities.

On 12 June 1985, the day of the signing in Lisbon of Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Communities, the Lisbon daily newspaper Diário Popular publishes parts of the address delivered to mark the occasion by Mário Soares, Portuguese Prime Minister, who places particular emphasis on the need for the Portuguese people to implement modernisation measures over the next few years.

On 12 June 1985, commenting on the ceremony held the same day in Lisbon to mark the signing of Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Communities, the Lisbon daily newspaper Correio da Manhã considers the expected impact of accession for the Portuguese people.

On 13 June 1985, the Lisbon daily newspaper Diário de Notícias reports on the official ceremony, held in Lisbon the previous day, to mark the signing of Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Communities.

On 13 June 1985, the Lisbon daily newspaper O Jornal describes in detail the proceedings of the ceremony held the previous day in Lisbon to mark the signing of Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Communities.

On 13 June 1985, the Portuguese daily newspaper Correio da Manhã devotes its front page to the signing, the previous day in Lisbon, of Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Communities.

On 9 July 1985, addressing the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament) in Lisbon, Ernâni Rodrigues Lopes, Portuguese Finance Minister, outlines the economic benefits that Portugal will derive from its accession to the European Communities.

On 10 July 1985, addressing the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament) in Lisbon, Jaime Gama, Portuguese Foreign Minister, describes the role that Portugal will play in a European Community in the throes of change.

On 10 June 1985, the Assembly of the Republic ratifies Portugal’s Treaty of Accession to the European Communities, signed on 12 June in Lisbon.

Mario Soares, Socialist Prime Minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and President of Portugal from 1986 to 1996.

On 1 January 1986, the day on which Portugal officially accedes to the European Communities, the Portuguese daily newspaper Diário de Notícias analyses the impact of accession on foreign investment in Portugal.

On 2 January 1986, the Lisbon daily newspaper Diário Popular reports on the New Year address delivered by Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, Portuguese Prime Minister, for whom the accession of Portugal to the European Communities, after several long years of negotiation, is synonymous with hope for the Portuguese people and heralds a further opening of the country to the world.

The very first Spanish and Portuguese MEPs, Fernando Amaral and Carlos Westendorp (right) arrive in Strasbourg, where they are welcomed by the President of the European Parliament, Pierre Pflimlin.

On 2 January 1986, the Lisbon daily newspaper Diário Popular analyses the financial implications of Portugal’s accession to the European Communities and describes various reactions to the enlargement of the Communities.

On 26 February 1987, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the flow of capital and the level of public aid granted to Portugal since its accession to the European Communities on 1 January 1986.

On 6 April 1987, during the official visit to Portugal by François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic, Mário Soares, Portuguese Prime Minister, delivers an address in which he emphasises the age-old relations between France and Portugal and the need to strengthen joint efforts within the European Economic Community (EEC).

Am 13. Juli 1987 zeigt das deutsche Nachrichtenmagazin Der Spiegel, dass Portugal trotz der Subventionen der Europäischen Gemeinschaft Schwierigkeiten hat, seinen wirtschaftlichen Rückstand aufzuholen und die Armut im Land zu bekämpfen.

On 4 March 1988, in Caya, Badajoz, the former Portuguese MP, António Cardoso e Cunha, Member of the European Commission responsible for fisheries policy, symbolically unveils the new boundary post which marks the border between Spain and Portugal.

On 4 March 1988, in Caya, Badajoz, a group of children wave European flags to celebrate the symbolic unveiling of the new boundary post that replaces the former border checkpoint between Spain and Portugal.

On 2 December 1988, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro reports on the fears of Portuguese unions and employers raised by the prospect of a large single market in Europe in 1993.

On 24 November 1989, at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, Portuguese Prime Minister, delivers an address in which he places particular emphasis on Portugal’s role in the development of a European identity.

In March 1990, the Portuguese economic affairs magazine Cadernos de Economia provides an economic assessment of Portugal’s first four years of membership of the European Communities.

On 19 October 1990, at the opening session of the conference on ‘Portugal in the European Community of the future’, held in Lisbon by the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, Mário Soares, Portuguese Prime Minister, delivers an address in which he considers the implications of the establishment of the internal market and of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the definition of the political and institutional dimension of the Community.

In August 1991, the French monthly newspaper Le Monde Diplomatique analyses the consequences for the country’s economy and society of Portugual’s accession to the European Communities on 1 January 1986.

On 3 January 1992, in Lisbon, Mário Soares (right), President of the Portuguese Republic, Aníbal António Cavaco Silva (left), Portuguese Prime Minister, and Pedro Santana Lopes (centre), Portuguese Junior Minister for Culture, take part in the opening ceremony for the first Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Communities.

On 7 February 1992, in Maastricht, João de Deus Pinheiro (left), Portuguese Foreign Minister, and Jorge Braga de Macedo (right), Portuguese Finance Minister, sign the Treaty on European Union.

On 7 February 1992, Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Communities, delivers an address in which he emphasises the political implications of the Treaty on European Union (EU), signed that day in Maastricht by the Twelve.

On 26 and 27 June 1992, the Heads of State or Government of the Twelve meet in Lisbon for a European Council, at the end of which they confirm their commitment to see the Treaty on European Union enter into force on 1 January 1993 and their wish to prepare the enlargement of the EU to include the applicant countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

In June 1993, the Lisbon-based magazine Expansão publishes an article by Mário Soares, President of the Portuguese Republic, in which he gives an assessment of the economic and political situation eight years after Portugal’s accession to the European Communities.

On 20 June 1994, Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral (right), Portuguese Minister for Public Works, Transport and Communications, and Domingos Duarte Lima (left), Social Democrat MP, visit the building site of the section of motorway under construction between Penafiel and Amarante made possible with the support of Community funding.

The Belém Cultural Centre was built to host events organised in Lisbon during Portugal’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 1992 and has since become an important venue for Portuguese cultural life.

On 27 March 1995, Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, Portuguese Prime Minister (left), and Jacques Delors, former President of the European Commission (right), together officially open the Jacques Delors European Information Centre at the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon.

The building of the Vasco da Gama Bridge that spans the Tagus River near Lisbon and links the Portuguese capital to the south of the country was partly financed by Community subsidies. The Bridge was officially opened on 4 April 1998.

On 23 March 2000, António Guterres, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, with Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, seated to his left and Jaime Gama, Portuguese Foreign Minister, and Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), on his right, outlines the challenges involved in defining a new strategic goal for the European Union in order to strengthen employment, economic reform and social cohesion as part of a knowledge-based economy.

On 18 June 2000, António Guterres, Portuguese Prime Minister (right), greets his Spanish counterpart, José María Aznar, upon his arrival at the Santa Maria da Feira European Council.

On 19 and 20 June 2000, the Heads of State or Government of the fifteen Member States of the European Union meet in Santa Maria da Feira, Aveiro, Portugal, to review the progress made with regard to the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on institutional reform, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the European common security and defence policy and the negotiations on the enlargement of the European Union.

‘Portugal was the only country to ask the Church to help … … promote the euro. Hmm … does that mean that the other countries will have a material relationship with the currency, whilst ours will be more spiritual …? The Portuguese cartoonist Luís Afonso, depicting the pro-euro campaign to promote the launch of the single currency, takes an ironic look at Portugal's economic and financial situation.

On 1 January 2002, the first day of entry into circulation of the single currency, Portuguese citizens queue outside the seat of the Bank of Portugal in Lisbon to exchange their escudos for euros.

The Portuguese cartoonist Jorge Mateus takes an ironic look at aid applications from farmers under the common agricultural policy (CAP).

On 4 June 2002, in Lisbon, Jorge Sampaio, President of the Portuguese Republic, delivers the opening address at the Conference on ‘The future of Europe and enlargement. A political model for 21st-century Europe.’

On 24 January 2003, in the Moncloa Palace, Madrid, António Vitorino, Portuguese European Commissioner responsible for Justice and Home Affairs (left), is presented with the Grand Cross of St Raymond by the Spanish Prime Minister, José María Aznar.

‘German Chancellor Schroeder is proposing to establish a European government. A European government?! And which ministry would be earmarked for Portugal? Given our austerity and technical prowess, the Finance Ministry, no doubt.’ The Portuguese cartoonist Luís Alfonso takes an ironic look at Portugal’s economic and financial situation.

In June 2004, José Manuel Durão Barroso, Portuguese Prime Minister, is appointed by the Twenty-Five to succeed Romano Prodi as President of the European Commission.

On 12 June 2005, at the ceremony held at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon to mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of Spain and Portugal’s Treaties of Accession to the European Communities, Jorge Sampaio, President of the Portuguese Republic, delivers an address in which he emphasises the cultural significance of this accession for the Iberian Peninsula.