DOCSLIB.ORG

Bulletin of the EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bulletin of the EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES . rssN t378.369ir LEBffiffiRY Bulletin OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES uommtsstonArr No 2 1984 Volum e 17 The Bulletin of the European communities reports on the activities of the commission and the other community institutions. lt is edited by the Secretariat-General of the Commission (rue de la Loi 200, 8-1049 Brussels) and published eleven times a year (one issue covers July and August) in the otficial Community languages Spanish and Portuguese' Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. The following reference system is used: the first digit indicates the part number, the second digit the chapter number and the subsequent digit or digits the point number. citations should therefore read as follows: Bull. EC 1-1979, point 1 .1 .3 or 2.2'36. Suptements to the Bultetin are published in a separate senes at irregu- lar intervals. They contain officiat Commission material (e.9. communica- tions to the Council, Programmes, reports and prqosals). The Supple' ments do not aryear in Spnish and Portuguese. Printed in Belgium Bulletin OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ECSC_EEC-EAEC Commission of the European Communities Secretariat-General Brussels No2 1984 Sent to press in April 1984 Volume 17 contents PART ONE PET9Ii*''' 1. Draft Treaty establishing the European Union 7 2. Preparation for the Brussels European Council 28 3. lnformation technology Adoption of the first phase of the Esprit programme - 34 4. Future relations with Greenland 37 5. Commission programme 40 PART TWO fi,'IL'JILTRY 1e84 1. Building the Community 42 - Economic and monetary Policy 42 - lnternal market and industrial affairs 43 - lndustrial innovation and the information market 50 - Customs union 51 - Competition 52 - Financial institutions and taxation 58 - Employment, education and social policy 59 - Regional policy 62 - Environment and consumers 63 - Agriculture 65 - Fisheries 70 - Transport 72 - Energy 74 - Research and development 75 2. Enlargement and external relations 78 Enlargement and bilateral relations with applicant - countries 78 - Commercial policy 79 - Relations with industrialized countries 81 - Relations with other countries and regions 84 o Mediterranean countries 84 o Asia 85 o Latin America 85 - Development 85 - lnternational organizations and conferences 90 - Diplomatic relations 92 3. Financing Community activities 93 4. lnstitutional and political matters 94 - European political cooperation 94 - European policy and relations between the institutions 96 lnstitutions and organs of the Communities' 97 - o Parliament 97 o Council 't02 o Commission 103 o Court of Justice 105 o Economic and Social Committee 112 o European lnvestment Bank 115 PART THREE DOCU M ENTATION 1. ECU 120 2. Additional references in the Official Journal 121 3. lnfringement procedures 122 Publications of the European Communities Supplements 1 984 -1184 Unfair terms in contracts concluded with consumers ' l" p*p"r*- \ PART @[\[ E SPECIAL FEATURES \ \ Standardized abbrevialions lor lhs designation ol cortain monetary units in the ditferent languages of the Community: ECU = European currenry unit BFR = Bolgische frank / Franc b€lg€ DKR = Dansk krone DM = Deutsche Mark DR : Greek drachma FF = Franc frangais HFL : Nederlandse gulden (Hollandse florijn) IRL = lrish pound / punt LFR = Franc luxembourgeois LIT : Lira italiana UKL = Pound sterling USD = United Siatss dollar 1 . Draft Treaty establishing the European Union 1.1.1. On 14 February Parliament appro- simply by the Member States. This would ved the draft Treaty establishing the Euro- mean that the matters currently dealt with pean Union, presented by its Committee on in European political cooperation could be Institutional Affairs, by 237 votes to 31 with associated more closely with the institutions 43 abstentions.l The accompanying resolu- of the Union than would have been the case tion was passed by 238 votes to 32 with 34 under the terms of the resolution. abstentions. Article 82, on ratification and implementa- This was the culmination of well over tivo tion, is undoubtedly one of the most contro- years' work,2 which had begun f,iith the' versial articles. Parliament has agreed that, setting-up of the Committee on Institutional once the Treaty has been ratified by a ma- jority Affairs in July 1981.3 of the Member States representing two thirds of the population of the Com- President The of Parliament will now sub- munity, their governmenrs will meet at once mit the draft Treaty of Union to the national to decide on the procedures and date for governments parliaments. and The new Par- entry into force and on relations with the liament elected in June will take whatever Member States which have nor yet rarified. steps it thinks fit to take into account the Article 23(3), which, for a transitional expressed views by the national parlia- period of 10 years, sanctions unanimity vot- ments. ing within the Council of the Union in the The draft will be the mainspring of the event of a vital national interest being invo- forthcoming election campaign. ked by a Member Srate and recognized as such by the Commission, also caused con- There is Iittle difference in substance be- siderable dissent. tween the draft Treaty as finally adopted by Parliament and the original resolution4 Apart from these two major changes re- adopted in September 1,983.2 ferred tci above, the draft Treaty includes a number of other points that do not corre- However, two major changes have been spond entirely to the resolurion, notably: made. First, there is a new section contain- deletion of the clause 'The European Coun- ing general and final provisions, which were cil shall represent the identity of the Union' deliberately left out of the resolution. They (Article 737 of the resolution); deletion of lay down the procedures for entry into force the reference to framework laws, as all laws and revision of the Treaty and determina- are to be designed to leave as much leeway tion of the seat of the institutions, as well as possible for the authorities responsible as various technical provisions. for their implementation (Article 22 of rhe Second, important changes have been made resolution and Article 34(1) of the draft); to the section on international relations. elimination of the reference to 'potential The distinction made in the original resolu- competence' (Article 20 of the resolution) tion between economic external relations with the introduction of a procedure for on the one hand and diplomatic and politi- transferring new areas of competence to the cal relations on the other has been altered. Union; and tightening-up of the legislative Whereas the resolution places the former procedure of the Union ro eliminate loop- within the exclusive jurisdiction of the holes left in the preliminary draft (Article Union and provided for the latter to be dealt 130 of the resolution and Article 38 of the with by cooperation between the Member draft). States within the European Council, the draft Treaty introduces a more subtle dis- I OJ Cn, D.3.1984; for the views of the different political tinction, whereby matters dealt with by co- 2groups see point 2.4.12. operation could be delegated for purposes oJ c2n,17.10.1983; Bull. EC 9-1983, point t.l.l et seq. : Bull. EC7/8-1981, points 2.3.4 to 2.3.9. of implementation to the Commission and 4 Resolution conccrning the substance of the preliminary the Council rather than.being dealt with draft of the Trcaty estabhshing the European Union. Bull. EC 2-1984 European Union The texts of Parliament's resolution on the rent degree of unity, is compatible with the draft Treaty, of the draft Treaty itself and guidelines it adopted in its resolution of 14 extracts from the speech by Mr Gaston September 1983: Thorn, President of-the Commission, are Approves the preliminary draft, which given below her-eby becomes the draft Treaty establish- ing the European Union, and instructs its President to submit it to the parliaments Resolution on the draft Treaty and governments of the Member States; establishing the European Union Calls on the European Parliament which will be elected on 17 June 1984 to arrange contacts and meetings with 1.1.2. The European Parliament, all appropriate the national parliaments and to take any Having regard to its decision of 9 July 1981 other useful initiatives to enable it to take settingup a Committee on Institutional Af- account of the opinions and comments of fairs,l the national parliaments; Having regard to its resolution of 5 July Hopes that the Treaty establishing the 1982 concerning the reform of the Treaties European Union will ultimately be appro- and the achieve-ment of European Union,2 ved by all the Member States in accordance Having regard to its resolution of 14 Sep- with their respective constitutional proced- tembei 1983 concerning the substance of ures. the preliminary draft Treaty establishing the European Union,3 Having regard to the report of the Commit- . Draft Treaty establishing the tee on Institutional Affairs, European Union Persuaded that, having regard to the present difficulties, there is an urgent and vital need Preamble for a revival of European integration; such a revival should include a further develop- With a view to continuing and reviving the ment of existing policies, the introduction democratic unification of Europe, of which of new policies and the establishment of a the European Communities, the European new institutional balance; Monetary System and European Political Recalling that European Union has been Cooperation represent the first achiev-
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Development of a Knowledge Based Decision Support System for Private Sector Participation in Water and Sanitation Utilities
    FORSCHUNGS- UND ENTWICKLUNGSINSTITUT FÜR INDUSTRIE- UND SIEDLUNGSWASSERWIRTSCHAFT SOWIE ABFALLWIRTSCHAFT E.V. STUTTGART Carla Gonçalves Pinheiro Böhl Development of a Knowledge Based Decision Support System for Private Sector Participation in Water and Sanitation Utilities KOMISSIONSVERLAG OLDENBOURG INDUSTRIEVERLAG GMBH, MÜNCHEN 2007 D93 Bibliographische Information Der Deutschen Bibliothek Die Deutsche Bibliothek verzeichnet die Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliographie; detaillierte bibliographische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.ddb.de abrufbar Carla Gonçalves Pinheiro Böhl Development of a Knowledge Based Decision Support System for Private Sector Participation in Water and Sanitation Utilities Forschungs- und Entwicklungsinstitut für Industrie- und Siedlungswasserwirtschaft sowie Abfallwirtschaft e.V. Stuttgart (FEI). München: Oldenbourg Industrieverlag GmbH, 2007. (Stuttgarter Berichte zur Siedlungswasserwirtschaft; Bd. 189) Zugl.: Stuttgart, Univ., Diss., 2007 ISBN 978-3-8356-3137-3 ISBN 978-3-8356-3137-3 © 2007 Alle Rechte vorbehalten Satz: Institut für Siedlungswasserbau, Wassergüte- und Abfallwirtschaft der Universität Stuttgart Bandtäle 2, 70569 Stuttgart (Büsnau) Druck: medien-fischer.de GmbH, Benzstr. 3, 70736 Fellbach Printed in Germany ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As a Doctoral Candidate of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Stuttgart (Germany) enrolled in the International Doctoral Program Environment Water (ENWAT) and the person authoring this dissertation, I wish to express my grateful thanks to Prof. Rott (University of Stuttgart) for his guidance and assistance during the research. Prof. Vermeer (University of Stuttgart) helped the research get started. Very special thanks are due to Prof. Marx (University of Stuttgart) and Prof. Bárdossy (University of Stuttgart): their explanations on how to model using composite programming have been most useful. Prof. David Stephenson (University of Botswana) for his invaluable inputs.
    [Show full text]
  • The Greek Anomaly: Three Bailouts and a Continuing Crisis
    THE GREEK ANOMALY: THREE BAILOUTS AND A CONTINUING CRISIS by MARKOS BEYS PAPACHRISTOU Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Thesis Adviser: Professor Elliot Posner Department of Political Science CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY January, 2017 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of Markos Beys Papachristou candidate for the degree of Master of Arts * Committee Chair: Elliot Posner Committee Member: Peter Moore Committee Member: Joseph White Date of Defense: December 9, 2016 * We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. To my Parents Christos and Patricia Papachristou Table of Contents 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................1 2. Origins and Causes of the Greek Crisis.............................................................................7 2.1 Issues with the Greek Politics and Economics...........................................................7 2.2 Economics of the Greek Debt...................................................................................14 3. EU – ECB – IMF Bailouts of Greece..............................................................................20 3.1 Bailouts and Austerity Measures..............................................................................20 3.2 Cost of Austerity.......................................................................................................28
    [Show full text]
  • Europe Without the EU? by Filippo L
    Europe without the EU? by Filippo L. Calciano1, Paolo Paesani2 and Gustavo Piga3 Policy Brief 1 Introduction The aim of this paper is to conduct a simple albeit daring exercise in counterfactual history: we discuss what the consequences for European countries would be, in the midst of the current economic crisis, if the European Union did not exist. The EU is both a monetary union and a political and institutional union, and in this study we consider both aspects. As a monetary union, the EU manages the common currency, the euro, through the actions of the European Central Bank (ECB). As a political union the EU serves many purposes, the most important of which, with respect to the current economic crisis, is to provide a privileged forum to coordinate Member States’ anti-crisis policies. As a matter of fact, since the beginning of the cr isis, European leaders have held numerous European Council meetings as well as preparatory G-8 and G-20 meetings, confirming the urgent need for policy coordination and cooperation both at EU and international level. In this study we pose and answer the following two questions: 1. What would the consequences of the current crisis be for European countries if the euro had not been introduced ten years ago; that is, if European Monetary Union (EMU) had failed? 1 CORE, Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, and Department of Economics, University of Rome 3, email: fi[email protected]. 2 Department of Economics, University of Rome 2, email: [email protected]. 3 Department of Economics, University of Rome 2, corresponding author, email: [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Dissemination of Historical Time Series for The
    | Statistical Press Release | Lisboa, 20th October 2010 | Dissemination of historical time‐series for the Portuguese Escudo1 Banco de Portugal was created by a royal decree on 19 November 1846, as an issuing bank, entrusted with the “exclusive power to issue banknotes or bearer bonds in mainland Portugal”. After more than 160 years, during which three distinct monetary currencies have been adopted (real, escudo and euro), Banco de Portugal continues to guarantee the issue and putting into circulation of the national economy’s legal tender currency. It currently holds this function under the framework and operating regulations set out for the national central banks of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), under the provisions of the Article 6 (1) of the Organic Law of the Banco de Portugal: “Under the provisions of Article 106 of the Treaty which institutes the European Community, Banco de Portugal issues banknotes, which are legal tender and have discharging power”. Under the provisions of Article 20 of the Organic Law “Banco de Portugal is the exchange rate authority of the Portuguese Republic” and, pursuant to the Article 13, “It is incumbent on Banco de Portugal the collection and compilation of monetary, financial, foreign exchange and balance of payments statistics, in particular within the scope of its co‐operation with the ECB”. In this framework, the Banco de Portugal has decided to collect all the information about the Escudo, available in various media, mostly on paper, and to make available to the public historical time‐series of the Escudo accompanied by metadata that contributes to a better understanding of its evolution since the late nineteenth century until the adoption of the euro by Portugal on 1 January 1999.
    [Show full text]
  • ANNEXURE I (Para 1.8)
    69 ANNEXURE I (para 1.8) Summary of detailed events in the run up to the EMU and EURO 1988 EMU Committee established (Delors Committee) 1989 Stage I of EMU begins with the publication of the EMU Report. 1992 The Treaty of European Union is signed at Maastricht. Inter-alia the treaty lays down the convergence criteria for EU members to join the EMU 1993 Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty) ratified by member states. 1994 Stage II of EMU begins with the establishment of the EMI in Frankfurt. End of 1996 The Council reports that the convergence criteria have still not been achieved for January 1, 1997 to be the first possible date for launch of Stage III. March 25, 1998 The European Commission and the EMI recommend an 11-member EMU launch at Stage III in view of the high degree of sustainable convergence achieved by these countries. May 2, 1998 The council adopts recommendation for the 11-member EMU; appoints the ECB Executive Board and decides to adopt current central parities for fixing irrevocably, parities for the currencies of the EMU participants. January 1, 1999 Stage III A of the EMU. Euro will become a legal currency of EMU countries. The exchange rates of the currencies of participating states will be irrevocably locked; the value of ECU will be determined and converted to euros at the rate of 1:1. The ECB and ESCB will take control of the monetary policy. Open market operations, new public debt issues and foreign exchange payments will be in euros. Stock exchange quotes will be in euros.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Essays on European Union Advances Toward a Single Currency and Its Implications for Business and Investors Charlotte Anne Bond Old Dominion University
    Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations in Business College of Business (Strome) Administration Winter 1998 Three Essays on European Union Advances Toward a Single Currency and Its Implications for Business and Investors Charlotte Anne Bond Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/businessadministration_etds Part of the Finance and Financial Management Commons, International Business Commons, and the International Relations Commons Recommended Citation Bond, Charlotte A.. "Three Essays on European Union Advances Toward a Single Currency and Its Implications for Business and Investors" (1998). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), dissertation, , Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/mc19-6f14 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/businessadministration_etds/77 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Business (Strome) at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Three Essays on European Union Advances Toward A Single Currency and its Implications for Business and Investors by Charlotte Anne Bond A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor o f Philosophy (Finance) Old Dominion University College of Business Norfolk, Virginia (December 1998) Approved by: Mohammad Najand (Committee Chair) \ tee Member) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9921767 Copyright 1999 by Bond, Charlotte Anne All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9921767 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
    [Show full text]
  • ECU-EMS Information : 4/1992 Monthly
    Theme 2 ISSN 1011-0844 Economy and finance Series Β Short-term trends eurostat ECU-EMS information 4 D 1992 Monthly THE PORTUGUESE ESCUDO HAS BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THE EMS EXCHANGE RATE MECHANISM SINCE 6 APRIL 1992. On Saturday, 4 April, the Portuguese authorities announced Since 6 April 1992 the Greek drachma has therefore been their intention to bring the escudo into the EMS exchange the only European Community currency which has not rate mechanism at a central rate of 180 escudos to the ecu been participating in the EMS exchange rate mechanism. and with fluctuation margins of 6% either way. In fact, the escudo entered the exchange rate mechanism on 6 April at On the euromarket, the Kingdom of Danmark launched at its former notional central rate of 178.75 escudos to the the end of March its long awaitted jumbo issue, for a total ecu. amount of ECU 1300 million (see page 5). It should be noted that the reference value for the escudo's On the domestic markets for ecu securities, 11 April saw entry into the exchange rate mechanism was considered the Italian Treasury issue a new 368-day ecu bill for ECU and expressed in relation to the ecu and not in relation to 500 million. any of the other currencies in the exchange rate mechanism. The British Treasury continued as usual with its programme of issuing one-, three- and six-month bills for a total of ECU As the escudo entered the exchange rate mechanism at a 1 000 million. On 21 April, however, the second issue in the central rate identical to its previous notional central rate, new British programme of three-year bills was for ECU 500 the only change in the new grid of bilateral central rates million (as against ECU 1 000 million on 24 January).
    [Show full text]
  • Activities and Financial Statements 2020
    ANNUAL REPORT ACTIVITIES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2020 BANCO DE PORTUGAL EUROSYSTEM Lisboa, 2021 • www.bportugal.pt Annual Report | Activities and Financial Statements 2020 • Banco de Portugal Av. Almirante Reis, 71 | 1150-012 Lisboa • www.bportugal.pt • Edition Communication and Museum Department | Accounting Department • Design Communication and Museum Department | Design Unit • Translation International Relations Department | Translation Unit • ISBN (online) 978-989-678-729-5 • ISSN (online) 2182-6080 Contents Message by the Governor | 4 Mission and values of Banco de Portugal | 7 Statutory bodies | 9 I Activity | 13 Executive summary | 15 1 Response to the COVID-19 pandemic | 25 1.1 Preserving monetary policy transmission and favourable financing conditions for the economy | 25 1.2 Protection of loans to households and firms | 28 1.3 Monitoring of financial institutions and relaxation of supervisory measures | 29 1.4 Functioning of payment systems and means of payment | 30 1.5 Monitoring the economic activity and the financial system | 31 1.6 Business continuity management | 33 1.7 Social responsibility | 34 2 Price stability in the euro area | 35 2.1 Monetary policy | 35 2.2 Asset management | 38 2.3 Payment systems and means of payment | 40 3 Safeguarding of financial stability | 44 3.1 Regulatory framework | 44 3.2 Stability of the Portuguese financial system | 45 3.3 Resolution | 53 3.4 Upholding the legality of the resolution and enforcement measures | 54 4 Knowledge creation and sharing | 55 4.1 Research | 55 4.2 Statistics
    [Show full text]
  • The Fate of the Euro
    The fate of the euro Vanguard Research July 2018 Peter Westaway, PhD; Alexis Gray; and Eleonore Parsley ■ The fate of the euro is not yet sealed. Despite flaws in its initial design, the euro is likely to survive with most, if not all, member states for many years given the strong political will for its existence. Based on analysis of current developments and of previous monetary unions, we believe that risks to the euro area come from two directions. Without further integration and better crisis management tools, there may be a partial or full breakup of the euro. But too much integration too quickly could lead to the same outcome. ■ The risk of an immediate “euro crisis” is low. Indeed, we place a 95% probability on the survival of the euro area over the next five years. We think a partial breakup is possible but also unlikely in the short term (0%–5%). ■ We are less sanguine about the outlook for 30 years and beyond. The chances of the euro’s survival with the full complement of existing members dwindles to around 60%–70%, with a meaningful 20%–30% chance of a partial breakup and a still meaningful 10%–15% chance of a full breakup. For professional investors only as defined under the MiFID II Directive. Not for public distribution. In Switzerland for professional investors only. Not to be distributed to the public. This document is published by The Vanguard Group, Inc. It is for educational purposes only and is not a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell investments.
    [Show full text]
  • Use of Euro in Affiliated Countries and Territories Outside the EU
    79 Use of Euro in Affiliated Countries and Territories Outside the EU Niels C. Andersen, Legal Affairs, and Niels Bartholdy, International Relations INTRODUCTION If Denmark's adoption of the euro is endorsed by the referendum in Denmark on 28 September 2000 it will be necessary to consider the cur- rency arrangements for the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Today they both use the Danish krone as their currency1. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but are not members of the EU. Some of the present euro area member states have close economic relations with small states or territories which by tradition have used the present euro area member state's currency (e.g. the French franc) as their currency, but which are not members of the EU. The framework for the foreign-exchange cooperation between the euro area member states and these small states and territories after the introduction of the euro is set out in a number of EU decisions which are outlined in the following. A common feature of the EU decisions is that all of the small states and territories in question will have the opportunity to preserve the currency association to the euro area member state by using the euro as their currency. There is every indication that they will avail of this oppor- tunity. However, the more detailed legal arrangements between the individual euro area member states and the associated small states and territories remain to be clarified. Finally, the article describes two EU decisions on the currency relations between France and the CFA zone and the Comoro Islands, and Portugal and Cape Verde after the two EU member states' introduction of the euro.
    [Show full text]
  • The Euro: Internationalised at Birth
    The euro: internationalised at birth Frank Moss1 I. Introduction The birth of an international currency can be defined as the point in time at which a currency starts meaningfully assuming one of the traditional functions of money outside its country of issue.2 In the case of most currencies, this is not straightforwardly attributable to a specific date. In the case of the euro, matters are different for at least two reasons. First, internationalisation takes on a special meaning to the extent that the euro, being the currency of a group of countries participating in a monetary union is, by definition, being used outside the borders of a single country. Hence, internationalisation of the euro should be understood as non-residents of this entire group of countries becoming more or less regular users of the euro. Second, contrary to other currencies, the launch point of the domestic currency use of the euro (1 January 1999) was also the start date of its international use, taking into account the fact that it had inherited such a role from a number of legacy currencies that were issued by countries participating in Europe’s economic and monetary union (EMU). Taking a somewhat broader perspective concerning the birth period of the euro, this paper looks at evidence of the euro’s international use at around the time of its launch date as well as covering subsequent developments during the first decade of the euro’s existence. It first describes the birth of the euro as an international currency, building on the international role of its predecessor currencies (Section II).
    [Show full text]
  • A Memo on the Political and Economic Climate in Portugal As It
    A Memo on the Political and Economic Climate in Portugal as It Concerns the European Sovereign Debt Crisis John Mills & Dylan McKenna 1. Political History of Portugal: The current government of Portugal is relatively young. In 1974, the “Carnation Revolution” led to a regime change, allowing for the creation of a democratic republic in 1976, formally known as The Third Republic Democracy. The constitution of 1976 divided the political power into executive, legislative and judicial branches. The legislative body is the Assembly of the Republic and it is unicameral. The president is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the military and has veto power over bills, however the prime minister is chief executive of the Portuguese government. Portugal currently uses a multi-party system consisting of 19 different political parties, though elections are dominated mostly by the Socialist Party (left leaning) and the Social Democratic Party (center-right leaning). Portugal, a member of the EU since 1986, joined the EMU in 1999. Portugal has been using the Euro as its only currency since 2002. Portugal circulated Portuguese Escudo and used the Euro as “book money”, from 1999 until the full transition in January and February of 2002. From 2005 until 2011 the political power rested with the Socialist Party, led by Prime Minister José Sócrates. In March 2011 when his fourth package of austerity measures was rejected by opposition in the Assembly, Sócrates handed his resignation to Aníbal Cavaco Silva who dissolved parliament and called for early legislative elections. Between his resignation and the elections, Prime Minister Sócrates went on national television in April to announce that Portugal was facing bankruptcy and would ask for assistance from the IMF and the EFSF as Greece and the Republic of Ireland had already done.
    [Show full text]