Resumen de Portugal, the European Union and the crisis

Teresa de Sousa, Carlos Gaspar

• English

  The two crises – the national and the European crisis – changed the terms of reference of the strategic debate in Portugal and, for the first time since the Maastricht Treaty, there was again a domestic debate on Portuguese foreign policies. The Portuguese elites’ trust in the future of Europe (and in their own European future) was called into question. European integration had been seen as an irreversible project, the Euro was supposed to be immune to crisis and the European Union was represented as one of the crucial poles of the international system; however, the last years have shown a more complex reality.

• português

  As duas crises – a crise nacional e a crise europeia – mudaram os termos de referência do debate estratégico em Portugal e, pela primeira vez desde o Tratado de Maastricht, voltou a haver um debate interno sobre as políticas externas portuguesas. A confiança das elites portuguesas no futuro da Europa (e no seu próprio futuro europeu) foi posta em causa. A integração europeia era vista como um processo irreversível, a moeda única era suposta ser imune às crises e a União Europeia era representada como um dos pólos fundamentais do sistema internacional, mas os últimos anos revelaram uma realidade mais complexa.