This table summarises the total amount of structural funds aid allocated to each Member State by the European Union for the periods 1986–1993, 1994–1999 and 2000–2006.

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.

Plan drawn up by the Portuguese Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications and cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the construction, in the Norte region of Portugal, of the Cruz-Braga stretch of the motorway linking Oporto to Valença.

On 28 October 1997, following the mid-term review of the implementation of the Structural Funds allocated to Portugal for the period 1994–1999, the European Commission emphasises in a press release the good results achieved, with particular regard to job creation.

On 9 June 1995, in a statement made to mark the 10th anniversary of the signing of Spain and Portugal’s Treaties of Accession to the European Communities, Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission, emphasises the importance of the efforts made by the European Union to support the development of the most disadvantaged regions of the Iberian Peninsula.

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.

From 1997 to 2000, the European Community, in connection with the Specific Integrated Development Programme for the Alqueva Area in the south-east of Portugal, cofunds the construction of the largest dam in Europe on the River Guadiana. This specific programme, which is part of the Alentejo Region Operational Programme, uses the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund.

Construction of the Pedro Hispano de Matosinhos Hospital on the outskirts of Oporto, in the north of Portugal, is cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The hospital was inaugurated in 1999.

On 29 July 1999, António Guterres, Portuguese Prime Minister, listens to some explanations during the train crossing of the 25 de Abril Bridge on the River Tagus at the official opening of the rail link between Almada and Lisbon.

Address given by Michel Barnier, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for Regional Policy, at the signing of the third Community Support Framework (CSF) for Portugal for the period 2000–2006.

This map of Portugal shows the areas eligible under Objective 1 of the Structural Funds, which aims to help the less-developed regions, for the period 2000–2006. The most disadvantaged regions are eligible if their per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is less than 75 % of the EU average. The regions in transition have not been eligible under Objective 1 since 2000 but benefit from a phasing-out regime.

This fact sheet gives an overview of the programmes implemented in Portugal in connection with the objectives of the European Structural Funds for the period 2000–2006.

These fact sheets give an overview of the projects implemented in the various regions of Portugal (North, Centre, Lisbon and the Tagus Valley, Alentejo, Algarve, Azores and Madeira) in connection with the objectives of the European Structural Funds for the period 2000–2006.

On 25 July 2002, residents of Paderne welcome the arrival of the first vehicles on the A2 motorway in the Algarve.

In December 2005, the monthly publication Inforegio Panorama publishes a report on the Algarve region in southern Portugal. This region is enjoying considerable benefits as a result, in particular, of European Union funding for transport infrastructures.

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

On 17 October 2007, the European Commission presents 10 new Operational Programmes for Portugal. These programmes, which cover the period 2007–2013, are intended to direct a new cohesion policy focused on human resources, innovation and technology, enterprise development and territorial cohesion.

This map of Portugal shows the regions covered by the Convergence and Regional Competitiveness and Employment objectives of the Structural Funds and instruments for the period 2007–2013. Regions eligible for the Convergence objective are those with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of less than 75 % of the EU average. Regions with a GDP only slightly above the threshold because of the statistical effect of the enlarged European Union benefit from a phasing-out regime. The former ‘Objective 1’ regions benefit from a phasing-in system under the Regional Competitiveness and Employment objective.

This fact sheet outlines the objectives of and the resources for the Community regional policy regarding Portugal for the period 2007–2013.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, assesses the results of the use of Community funds in Portugal.

In this interview, José da Silva Lopes, former Portuguese Minister for Finance and External Trade, analyses the use made of Community funds in Portugal and assesses the negative consequences that the enlargement of the European Union to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have had on the country since 2004.

On 24 December 1999, the Luxembourg daily newspaper Tageblatt reports on the main issues on the agenda for the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first half of 2000: the European strategy for growth and employment, cooperation with third countries and the Intergovernmental Conference on the reform of the Treaties.

On 10 January 2000, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir comments on the agenda of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first half of 2000 and presents the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Guterres, as a convinced and determined European.

On 10 January 2000, at the beginning of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the French daily newspaper Libération takes a critical look at the unambitious agenda of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) which opens on 14 February in Brussels and which is due to close at the Nice European Council in December 2000 under the French Presidency.

On 11 January 2000, the economics supplement of the French daily newspaper Le Figaro looks at the priorities for the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first half of the year.

On 20 March 2000, Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, praises the Portuguese Presidency for having taken the initiative to hold a special European Council in Lisbon on ‘Employment, Economic Reforms and Social Cohesion — Towards a Europe based on Innovation and Knowledge'.

On 23 and 24 March 2000, the Heads of State or Government of the Fifteen, meeting at the Lisbon European Council, set a new strategic objective for the European Union aimed, in particular, at strengthening employment, economic reform and social cohesion as part of a knowledge-based economy.

On 23 March 2000, António Guterres, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, 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 23 March 2000, Nicole Fontaine, President of the European Parliament, congratulates the European Council on having taken the initiative to define for the European Union a new strategic objective in order to create more jobs and strengthen economic reform and social cohesion as part of a knowledge-based economy.

On 23 and 24 March 2000, the European Council holds a special meeting in Lisbon to define a new strategic objective for the European Union in order to create more jobs and strengthen 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.

Presidency Conclusions of the Santa Maria da Feira European Council, held on 19 and 20 June 2000, concerning, in particular, the future enlargement of the European Union, the European common security and defence policy, employment, economic reforms and social cohesion.

On 13 July 2000, Anna Diamantopoulou, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for Employment and Social Affairs, delivers an address in Lisbon at the signing of two Operational Programmes for Portugal, one concerning employment, training and social development, the other education. For the Commissioner, these two programmes are in line with the strategy defined by the Lisbon European Council in March.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, considers the extent to which the methods of the Lisbon Strategy are in line with its objectives and assesses the results of its application in the Member States.

In this interview, José da Silva Lopes, former Minister for Finance and Foreign Trade, analyses the lack of resources provided by the European Union in the application of the Lisbon Strategy.

On 31 December 1998, the Council, acting with the unanimity of the Member States without a derogation, on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Central Bank, adopts the irrevocable conversion rates for the euro, applicable from 1 January 1999. Standing on the far left of the photo is António Sousa Franco, Portuguese Finance Minister.

Map showing the development of the euro zone and the increase in the number of Member States participating since its establishment on 1 January 1999.

In Resolution No 170/2000 of 16 November 2000, the Portuguese Council of Ministers adopts national guidelines for the changeover to the euro.

The Portuguese Decree-Law No 117/2001 of 8 March 2001 defines the period of dual circulation of escudo and euro banknotes and coins and sets the date for the end of the escudo as legal tender and the deadline for the exchange of national currency for euros.

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.

‘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.

In March 1998, the Bank of Portugal publishes a convergence report with a view to the transition to the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on 1 January 1999. The report indicates that Portugal now complies with all four convergence criteria except for the one concerning government deficit.

In this interview, José da Silva Lopes, former Minister for Finance and Foreign Trade, analyses the difficulties encountered by Portugal in the adoption of the euro and compares the former monetary system of the escudo with that of the new European currency.

Table showing the 10 regions with the highest and the 10 regions with the lowest per capita GDP, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), in the 15 Member States of the European Union and in the 12 candidate countries in 2000.

Table showing the 15 regions with the highest and the 15 regions with the lowest per capita GDP, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), in the 27 Member States of the European Union in 2004.

Published by Eurostat in 2006, this table shows figures relating to public balance and general government debt in 1995, 2000 and 2004 in the 25 Member States of the European Union, in the euro zone, the applicant countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania and Turkey), Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, as well as in the United States and Japan.

On 6 October 1999, shortly before the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the country’s parliamentary elections, the French daily newspaper Le Monde paints a mixed picture of the economic and budgetary situation in Portugal.

On 14 May 2002, the French daily newspaper Le Monde looks ahead to the austerity measures adopted by the new Portuguese Government in order to comply with the provisions of the EC Treaty and of the Stability and Growth Pact in terms of government deficit.

On 14 May 2002, the French daily newspaper Le Monde criticises Portugal’s management of the aid granted by the European Union in order to make up its economic deficit.

On 27 July 2002, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reports on the European Commission’s intention to apply the excessive deficit procedure to Portugal.

This article, published on 8 October 2002 in the French daily newspaper Le Monde, analyses the challenges facing the Portuguese Government if it is to revive the country’s economy and bring it in line with the European average.

On 16 October 2002, in an opinion to the Council, the European Commission concludes that an excessive deficit exists in Portugal and recommends that the Council take a decision in this area. During a press conference, Pedro Solbes, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for Economic and Monetary Affairs, outlines the aims of the procedure and the scale of the efforts to be undertaken to resolve the problems.

On 5 November 2002, in accordance with the provisions of the EC Treaty and of the Stability and Growth Pact, the Council of the European Union identifies the existence of an excessive deficit in Portugal.

Invited to attend a conference on strategies for the revival of the Portuguese economy, held on 28 March 2003 in Santa Maria da Feira, Pedro Solbes, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for Economic and Monetary Affairs, delivers an address on the challenges facing the Portuguese authorities, in particular macroeconomic stability and structural reforms.

On 6 April 2004, as Portugal prepares to host the European Football Championship, the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung profiles the country’s political, economic and social situation.

On 24 October 2005, the German economics daily newspaper Handelsblatt speculates on why there is a stubborn economic recession in Portugal, when the country had been seen as a ‘model pupil’ of the European Union.

On 24 January 2006, following the election of Aníbal Cavaco Silva as President of the Portuguese Republic, the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung analyses the political and economic situation of a country which, seeing itself as a victim both of economic globalisation and of European Union enlargement to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, needs a good dose of optimism.

This article, published in the Luxembourg daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort on 15 May 2006, 20 years after Portugal’s accession to the European Communities, paints a bleak picture of a country in the depths of economic crisis which is struggling to catch up with its European Union partners.

On 21 June 2006, the European Commission forwards a communication to the Council in which it assesses the measures adopted by Portugal since mid-2005 in order to reduce its excessive deficit. This press release, published on the same day, summarises the substance of the communication.

On 24 January 2006, the Luxembourg daily newspaper Tageblatt presents the task of the new President of the Portuguese Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva — of giving new impetus to the country’s economy — as being just as difficult as expected.

On 6 October 2006, at the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon, the first high-level seminar is held for the national coordinators who are responsible in the Member States for the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Employment. From left to right: Mauri Pekkarinen, Finnish Minister for Trade and Industry, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister, and Carlos Zorrinho, Portuguese National Coordinator of the Lisbon Strategy.

In this interview, José da Silva Lopes, former Minister for Finance and Foreign Trade, analyses the application in Portugal of the convergence criteria imposed by the Maastricht Treaty and the influence on the country's economy of the rates set by the European Central Bank.

On 29 June 2004, José Manuel Durão Barroso, Prime Minister of Portugal, informs the Portuguese nation of his intention to accept the invitation to become the next President of the European Commission which will be extended to him that evening by the Heads of State or Government meeting in Brussels at the Council of the European Union.

Decision of the Council, meeting in the composition of Heads of State or Government of 29 June 2004 nominating the person it intends to appoint as President of the Commission.

In his address to the plenary sitting of the European Parliament held on 21 July 2004 in Strasbourg, José Manuel Barroso asks the European Parliament to approve his appointment as President of the European Commission.

View of the European Parliament, meeting in plenary sitting, during the vote on the approval of the European Commission presided by José Manuel Barroso on 18 November 2004.

Statement by José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, at his swearing-in ceremony before the Court of Justice on 21 January 2005.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, outlines the challenges of the internal and external programme of the Presidency during the second half of 2007.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, outlines the advantages of the new way in which the Council’s activities are planned, based on an 18-month programme devised for the first time by the German, Portuguese and Slovenian Presidencies.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, explains how a small or medium-sized country such as Portugal prepares for a half-yearly Presidency and emphasises the benefits of the experience acquired and the contacts established during this period.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, comments on the importance of the very close cooperation between the Portuguese Presidency of the Council and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso.

In this interview, José Medeiros Ferreira, former Portuguese Foreign Minister, gives his views on the relative importance of the Portuguese presidencies of the Council of the European Union. He explains that the Treaty of Lisbon provides for a President of the European Council elected for a term of office of two and a half years, thus putting an end to rotating presidencies.

In this interview, José da Silva Lopes, former Minister for Finance and Foreign Trade, gives a positive assessment of the Portuguese Presidencies of the Council of the European Union.

Calendar of the main activities of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December 2007.

Work Programme presented by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second half of 2007.

On 27 June 2007, in the Portuguese Parliament, Prime Minister José Sócrates presents the programme of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second half of 2007. In his address, José Sócrates emphasises the three key aims of the programme: treaty reform, the modernisation of Europe’s economies and societies, and the strengthening of Europe’s role in the world.

On 27 June 2007, in the Portuguese Parliament, Prime Minister José Sócrates presents the Programme of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second half of 2007. In his address, José Sócrates emphasises the three key aims of the programme: treaty reform, the modernisation of the European economy and society, and the strengthening of Europe’s role in the world.

On 28 June 2007, in Brussels, Manuel Lobo Antunes, Portuguese Junior Minister for European Affairs, outlines to the foreign press the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second half of 2007.

On 28 June 2007, in the Justus Lipsius Building of the Council of the European Union in Brussels, Manuel Lobo Antunes, Portuguese State Secretary for European Affairs, presents the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency for the second half of the year. From left to right: Francisco Alegre Duarte, Press Officer of the State Secretary, Manuel Lobo Antunes, Manuel Carvalho, Spokesman for the Permanent Representation of Portugal, and Maria Rui, Deputy Spokesman.

On 1 July 2007, Luís Amado, Portuguese Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, grants an exclusive interview to the Portuguese television channel SIC. In this first part, he answers questions from the journalist on the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency with regard to the European Union Reform Treaty.

On 1 July 2007, Luís Amado, Portuguese Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, grants an exclusive interview to the Portuguese television channel SIC. In this second part, he answers questions from the journalist on the aims of the Portuguese Presidency concerning external relations.

Group photo of the members of the Portuguese Government and the Members of the European Commission at the inaugural meeting of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, held in Oporto on 2 July 2007.

Press conference held by José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission (left), and José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, at the inaugural meeting of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council, held in Oporto on 2 July 2007 with the Members of the European Commission and of the Portuguese Government.

José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, presents the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second half of 2007: the Reform Treaty, external relations, immigration policy, energy policy, the social dimension of the Lisbon Agenda and maritime policy. The presentation takes place on 2 July 2007 at the inauguration ceremony of the Presidency held in Oporto and attended by the members of the Portuguese Government and the members of the European Commission.

On 2 July 2007, at the inauguration ceremony held in Oporto for the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission, expresses his satisfaction that the views of the Commission are in line with the priorities of the Presidency for the second half of 2007.

On 4 July 2007, on the initiative of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the first European Union–Brazil Summit is held in Lisbon. The photo shows, from left to right: José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, and José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council.

On 4 July 2007, on the initiative of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the first European Union–Brazil Summit is held in Lisbon. The photo shows, from left to right: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, and José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission.

On 4 July 2007, on the initiative of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the first European Union–Brazil Summit is held in Lisbon. The group photo taken at the official dinner in Belém shows, in the front row, from left to right: José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, Portuguese President, Nicolas Sarkozy, French President, and José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission. In the second row, from left to right: Luis Filipe Marques Amado, Portuguese Foreign Minister, Celso Luiz Amorim, Brazilian Foreign Minister, Romano Prodi, Italian Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spanish Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, Netherlands Prime Minister, Janez Janša, Slovenian Prime Minister, Robert Fico, Slovakian Prime Minister, and Peter Mandelson, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for trade.

On 4 July 2007, in Lisbon, José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, welcomes the launch of a strategic partnership with Brazil at the first summit held by the European Union with this country on the initiative of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council.

On 4 July 2007, in Lisbon, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, expresses his satisfaction at the conclusion of a strategic partnership with the European Union which should help to reconcile the negotiating positions of Brazil and the European Union in connection with the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

On 4 July 2007, in Lisbon, José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission, welcomes the commitment of the European Union and Brazil in addressing two global issues: multilateral trade negotiations and climate change.

This article, published on 6 July 2007 in the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, during the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, comments on the advantages of Portugal’s clout as a former colonial power in Africa and South America for the development of the European Union’s external relations, in particular with an emerging giant such as Brazil.

On 11 July 2007, in Strasbourg, José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, outlines to the European Parliament the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second half of 2007.

Luís Amado, Portuguese Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union (right), and Álvaro Mendonça e Moura, Permanent Representative of Portugal to the European Union, at a meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 23 July 2007 in Brussels.

Press conference held on 23 July 2007 in Brussels by Manuel Lobo Antunes, Portuguese State Secretary for European Affairs, Luís Amado, Portuguese Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, at the opening of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) responsible for drafting a treaty amending the existing treaties.

On 23 July 2007, in Brussels, at the opening session of the Intergovernmental Conference on the reform of the Treaties, Luís Amado, Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, delivers an address on the mandate, timetable and organisation of the work of the Conference.

In an address given on 4 September 2007 to the European Parliament, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, President of the Portuguese Republic, emphasises the importance that the Portuguese Presidency of the Council places on economic and social cohesion as a fundamental pillar of European integration.

On 18 October 2007, the Intergovernmental Conference, meeting at the level of Heads of State or Government at the informal Lisbon Summit, approves the final text of the Treaty amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community.

On 19 October 2007, the Spanish daily newspaper El País comments on the agreement reached by the Twenty-Seven, against the backdrop of workers’ protests in Lisbon, on the new Amending Treaty and echoes the satisfaction expressed by the Portuguese Prime Minister, José Sócrates, and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso.

Meeting in Lisbon on 18 and 19 October 2007, the Heads of State or Government of the European Union reach agreement on the new Amending Treaty. In its 20 October issue, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro outlines the enthusiasm of the European leaders and the compromises secured.

On 20 October 2007, the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort comments on the agreement on the Amending Treaty reached the previous day in Lisbon by the Intergovernmental Conference of the representatives of the Twenty-Seven. The article refers, in particular, to the enthusiastic comments made by José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister, and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, who describe the day as being historic for Europe and for Portugal.

On 20 October 2007, the day after an agreement is reached in Lisbon on the new European Union Amending Treaty, the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung devotes an article to the subject of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and employment, to which the European leaders want to give a new impetus.

On 23 October 2007 in Strasbourg, José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, outlines to the European Parliament the agreement reached at the Intergovernmental Conference on the amending treaty which is due to be signed on 13 December in Lisbon.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), outlines the main differences between the 2004 Constitutional Treaty and the amending Treaty of Lisbon.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), outlines the progress made by the Treaty of Lisbon in terms of the area of freedom, security and justice.

The Lisbon Declaration, adopted at the Summit between Africa and the European Union held on 8 and 9 December 2007, emphasises the importance of the new strategic partnership concluded between the two partners.

José Sócrates (left), Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, and José Eduardo dos Santos, President of Angola, at the second Summit between the European Union and Africa, held on 8 and 9 December 2007 in the Palácio da Ajuda, Lisbon.

Group photo of the Heads of State or Government, taken at the second Summit between the European Union and Africa held on 8 and 9 December 2007 at the Ajuda National Palace (Palácio Nacional da Ajuda), Lisbon.

Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, signed at Lisbon, 13 December 2007.

On 13 December 2007, José Sócrates (left), Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, and Luís Amado, Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, sign, on behalf of Portugal, the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community.

On 13 December 2007, José Sócrates (left), Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, and Luís Amado, Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, welcome the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Luncheon for the Heads of State or Government and the Foreign Ministers given in the Coach Museum in Belém by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, to mark the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon on 13 December 2007.

Group photo taken at the signing ceremony of the Treaty of Lisbon, held on 13 December 2007 in the Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon.

On 14 December 2007, the European Council meets in Brussels to consider the major issues on the agenda, in particular long-term challenges, globalisation and the future of the Western Balkans. This European Council also provides an opportunity for a review of the main achievements of the Portuguese Presidency and, in particular, the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon.

On 18 December 2007, José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the European Council, gives an address to the European Parliament in Brussels in which he assesses the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

On 18 December 2007, José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission, gives an address to the European Parliament in Brussels in which he welcomes the work achieved by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in particular concerning the Treaty of Lisbon.