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Hay & Menon: European Politics

Portugal

It was not until the creation of democracy after the 1974 revolution that Portugal applied for membership of the EC, which it did in 1977. After a prolonged period of negotiation, Poland eventually joined the EC on 1 January 1986 (along with Spain). As the poorest member of the EC, Portugal was the beneficiary of considerable structural funds and the Cohesion Fund. However, it has not fared as well economically as Spain since joining the EC, and remains the poorest of the pre-2004 member states. Portugal struggled to meet the Maastricht criteria, although it did adopt the single currency along with the other original member states in 1999. It has since struggled to keep to the terms of the Stability and Growth Pact, due to persistent budget deficits. As a result, popular opinion in Portugal is much less supportive of the EU than in Spain. For instance, in the Spring 2006 Eurobarometer survey, only 47% of respondents felt Portugal's membership of the EU was a good thing (compared to 72% in Spain and 55% in the EU as a whole).