PORTUGAL
Content:
General Overview and Economy
Key Statistics
Population
Land use
Natural Ressources
Social Structure
Economy
Politics
Government
International Organizations
History
Outlook
The country in question and the UE......
Waste policy in the state and implementation of EU Directives
SWOT-Analysis: Portugal – Present waste policy
Strenghts
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Analysis of transposition and implementation of Council directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste directive
Transposition of the directive in the Portuguese law
Implementation of the directive in Portugal
Deadline problem
General Overview and Economy
Key Statistics
Population
10,605,870 (July 2006 est.)
Land use
arable land: 17.29%
permanent crops: 7.84%
other: 74.87% (2005)
Natural Ressources
Portugal is rich in mineral resources, a variety of which are extracted, processed, and exported. Much of this mineral wealth was not commercially exploited until after World War II (1939-1945). Among the most important mineral resources are copper, gold, iron ore, kaolin, marble, halite (rock salt), tin, uranium, and wolframite, which is a source of tungsten. Portugal also has abundant waterpower in its rivers and dammed lakes (called barragems), which the nation is continuing to develop. However, Portugal lacks significant fossil fuel resources and is heavily dependent on imports to meet its energy needs.
Forests cover 41 percent of Portugal’s land area, and many areas, especially in the mountains, are well suited to forestry. However, Portugal is not well endowed with agricultural resources. Portuguese soils tend to be sandy and acidic and are generally volcanic in origin. An exception is the loamy and fertile alluvial soil of the lower Tajo valley.
Social Structure
Portugal retained a traditional hierarchical social structure well into modern times. For much of the 20th century, Portuguese society was dominated by a small, wealthy upper class. Wealth and power, based mainly on land ownership, was largely inherited; social mobility was limited. A large lower class was composed mainly of peasants and manual laborers. For the lower class, work began at an early age, and little time was given to education. Portugal’s middle class, made up of merchants, bureaucrats, and artisans, remained small and politically weak. The Roman Catholic Church retained its influential status, especially in rural areas, where priests held important roles in education, government administration, and social life.
During Portugal’s 1974 revolution, the old social order was overthrown, and many of the social elite fled the country. Political parties emerged that promised reforms, and by the late 1970s a number of important changes had occurred. Many workers joined labor unions, land reforms divided extensive holdings in the countryside, and a variety of industries were nationalized. At the same time, thousands of immigrants from Portugal’s former colonies increased the country’s cultural and ethnic diversity.
Changes in Portugal’s social structure in the 1980s were driven by continued economic growth and by Portugal’s acceptance into the European Community (EC), a forerunner of the European Union (EU). Portugal’s growing economic and cultural links with Europe and the world encouraged greater social mobility and rising expectations among the lower classes. By the mid-1990s, a significantly larger, more prosperous middle class had emerged. Accompanying this growth were improvements in health, education, and welfare, and an expansion in civil liberties. Together, these factors have increased opportunities for many Portuguese.
Economy
While the Portuguese economy has undergone remarkable changes since the 1970s, Portugal remains among the least developed nations in western Europe. Two events in the late 20th century profoundly affected Portugal’s economic development—the 1974 revolution and Portugal’s entry into the European Community (EC), a predecessor of the European Union(EU), in 1986.
Prior to the revolution, industrial, agricultural, and financial resources remained concentrated among a few wealthy families. Portuguese industry and agriculture were inefficient and labor-intensive, and the nation’s financial investments were directed mainly toward the profitable African colonies. The revolutionary government first undercut the old elite’s economic power by granting independence to the African colonies. It also expropriated landed estates in central and southern Portugal and established communal farms. Banks and insurance companies, followed by most of the country’s heavy and medium-sized industries were nationalized, with the exception of foreign-owned enterprises. Most of the new state-owned firms, however, proved highly inefficient and contributed to large deficits and growing public debt. By the early 1980s many Portuguese favored the privatization of state-owned enterprises, a reduction in communal agriculture, and Portugal’s rapid entry into the EC.
Portugal joined the EC in 1986 and, following a transition period lasting until 1992, adopted the organization’s key policies. These included dropping protectionist tariffsand eliminating all barriers to the movement of goods and capital between Portugal and other member states. The EC also required Portugal to phase out subsidies to public enterprises and to adopt agricultural reforms. Membership in the EC, which formally became the EU in 1993, reshaped Portugal’s economy. Portugal revised its tax structure, expanded its social welfare system, and privatized many nationalized industries. In addition, as a prerequisite to adopting the EU’s single currency, the euro, Portugal was required to reduce its annual budget deficits and to adopt other economic reforms. Portugal’s economy benefited from increased trade ties to Europe and from EU financial aid aimed at improving the country’s infrastructure, including recent EU grants funding a significant portion of the costs of the massive Alqueva dam project on the GuadianaRiver.
Portugal has made great strides in raising its living standards since the mid-1980s, and the country’s per capita income is gradually approaching that of its EU partners. However, Portugal still faces many challenges. A sustained period of economic expansion in the late 1990s slowed toward the end of the decade. By 2004, following a period of recession and rising unemployment, Portugal’s economic growth fell well below the European average. Portugal’s economic development has also been highly uneven. Manufacturing and services, along with much of the country’s population, are concentrated in coastal areas in the west and south. The northern and eastern interior regions continue to experience economic stagnation and decline, as well as population losses due to steady out-migration. Portugal’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2004 was $168 billion.
Politics
Government
The military coup d’état of April 1974 ended a long era of dictatorship in Portugal. After the coup, a series of interim military governments controlled Portugal, and much of the economy was nationalized. A new political era dawned with the drafting of Portugal’s current constitution, issued in 1976 and amended in 1982 to complete the transition to a full civilian government. The preamble of the constitution initially called for the creation of a “classless society” based on public ownership of land, natural resources, and the principal means of production; this socialist language was struck in 1989. The constitution was revised in 1992 to accommodate the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty), and again in 1997 to permit national referenda to be held.
Portugal is a republic with a president and a unicameral (single-chamber) legislature. The constitution guarantees all citizens a variety of basic rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and the right to strike. Censorship and capital punishment are prohibited. Portuguese citizens aged 18 or older have the right to vote.
International Organizations
In addition to NATO, Portugal is a member of the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the Western European Union (WEU), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Council of Europe.
In 1996 Portugal and six of its former colonies—Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe—formed the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (known by its Portuguese acronym, CPLP) in Lisbon. The CPLP seeks to preserve the Portuguese language and culture, coordinate diplomatic efforts, and improve cooperation among its members.
History
Mário Soares (Prime Minister) attempted to restore stability to the economy, and in 1977 Portugal applied for membership in the European Community (EC), a forerunner of the European Union (EU). Soares resigned in late 1977 after failing to win support for an austerity program. After the fall of two successive interim governments, the conservative Democratic Alliance—a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Social Democratic Center Party (CDS)—won a clear majority in parliamentary elections held in December 1979. The Democratic Alliance backed several important constitutional reforms, including the abolition of the Revolutionary Council, which had retained veto power over legislation and blocked moves toward liberalizing the economy. It also developed plans to privatize certain state-owned industries.
Parliamentary elections in April 1983 brought PS leader Soares back to power as prime minister. Soares’s government, with support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), introduced an austerity program and conducted negotiations leading toward Portugal’s eventual entry into the EC. The government’s belt-tightening measures proved unpopular, however, and the government collapsed in 1985 amid disagreements over labor and agricultural reforms. Elections in October led to the formation of a minority government under PSD leader Aníbal Cavaco Silva. Silva held the post for the next ten years, leading the PSD to parliamentary victories in 1987 and 1991. Soares returned as president following elections in 1986, and he won another term in 1991.
The PS and PSD both backed Portugal’s membership in the EC, which it formally joined in 1986, and they cooperated to remove the remaining revolutionary passages from the constitution in 1989. Portugal’s entry in the EC spurred unprecedented economic growth, in part because the EC (and later its successor, the European Union) began to funnel large financial transfers to Portugal for economic modernization and infrastructure development. Silva’s administration continued to privatize industry, backed reforms in agriculture and education, and embraced high levels of foreign investment.
Resistance to the PSD gradually increased, however, despite the government’s promises of continued growth. An economic downturn in the early 1990s further diminished confidence in the government, amid a wave of strikes in support of higher wages, student demonstrations protesting against higher tuition fees, and corruption allegations. In the 1995 general election the PSD lost its majority to the PS, and PS leader António Guterres became prime minister. In 1996 former prime minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva ran for president on the PSD ticket and was soundly defeated by PS candidate Jorge Sampaio. Guterres and the PS were returned to power in the general election in 1999, and Sampaio won a second five-year term as president in 2001.
Portugal’s preparations for adoption of the euro, the single currency of the European Union (EU), strongly influenced the nation’s economy after 1996. The government reduced interest rates, and increasing investor confidence and strong consumer demand led to a pronounced economic expansion. During the late 1990s, Portugal’s annual economic growth consistently outpaced the European average, further narrowing the gap in per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) between Portugal and its wealthier western European neighbors. In 1999 Portugal was among the first group of EU members to meet the economic criteria required for adoption of the euro. A period of continuity in political leadership contributed to Portugal’s economic success.
After 1999, however, Portugal’s economy faltered. Portugal entered recession, and budget deficits and unemployment rose. Unpopular cuts to some public services followed, further undermining support for the government. Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader António Guterres resigned the post of prime minister in December 2001 after the PSD won a sweeping victory in local elections, and a new general election was scheduled in March 2002. The PSD narrowly defeated the Socialist Party (PS) but failed to capture a majority. The PSD entered a governing alliance with the conservative Popular Party (PP), and PSD leader José Manuel Durão Barroso was named prime minister. Durão Barroso campaigned on a pledge to reduce corporate taxes and lower public spending by encouraging private investment in public services. Nevertheless, the economy continued to weaken, and by 2004 Portugal’s economy was among the poorest performing in Europe.
In June 2004 Durão Barroso resigned as prime minister to become president of the European Commission—the highest administrative body of the European Union (EU). Durão Barroso was succeeded as prime minister by Pedro Santana Lopes, who was elected to lead the PSD following Durão Barroso’s resignation. The former mayor of Lisbon, Santana Lopes was formally sworn in as prime minister in July. Lopes’s government proved ineffective from the start, marred by internal dissension and a series of gaffes that undermined confidence in the leadership. In November—just four months into Santana Lopes’s term—President Jorge Sampaio announced he would dissolve parliament and call new elections in February 2005. The episode capped a period of political instability that began with the economic downturn after 1999, during which no prime minister managed to complete a full term in office.
The parliamentary elections in February delivered a crushing defeat to the PSD, giving the PS an absolute majority in parliament—something no party had achieved since 1991. The PS, led by José Sócrates, a former environment minister, vowed to promote economic growth and to reduce Portugal’s budget deficit by shedding public sector jobs through attrition. On February 24, President Jorge Sampaio called on Sócrates, as the nation’s next prime minister, to form a government.
Outlook
Portugal’s successful transition to democratic rule in the late 20th century greatly contributed to its success in approaching the economic and social development of other EU members, after many decades at the margins of Europe. An important indication of Portugal’s newfound economic strength was its ability to meet the strict economic criteria required to adopt the euro, the single currency of the European Union (EU), which entered use for accounting and financial transfers in 1999. Many challenges remain, however, as Portugal attempts to provide desired public services while maintaining a robust economy. To this end, Portugal has worked to increase its international competitiveness by modernizing industry and infrastructure and improving its education system.
For many Portuguese, the 1998 World’s Fair in Lisbon offered an important symbol of the nation’s domestic revival. The fair attracted millions of visitors and helped reestablish Portugal as a leading international tourist destination. Today, the site, rechristened as the Park of Nations, is an important focal point for commercial, administrative, and cultural activities in Lisbon.
In foreign affairs, Portugal has worked to improve its relations with Spain. Portugal’s traditional fear that it would be annexed and subordinated by its larger Iberian neighbor has given way to an enhanced trading relationship; Spain now rivals Germany as one of Portugal’s chief trading partners. Within the EU, Portugal has benefited from presenting a pan-Iberian front with Spain, and EU development funds have been allocated to help strengthen socioeconomic development in both countries.
Portugal has also sought to retain a leadership role among its former colonies. Beginning in 1988, Portugal played a significant part in the effort to restore peace to Angola and participated in negotiations for peace in Mozambique. In April 1993 Portuguese and Indonesian diplomats met with mediators in Rome, Italy, to begin discussions on the former Portuguese colony of East Timor. Portugal supported East Timor’s right to self-determination and, amidst great bloodshed, East Timor voted to become independent of Indonesia in 1999. In the same year, Portugal transferred control of Macao to China, ending more than 400 years of Portuguese rule of the territory.
Environment - current issues
soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas
Environment - international agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification
Source: MS Encarta
By Jan Brunner
The country in question and the EU
The entry of Portugal in the European Community, on January 1, 1986, twelve years after the Revolution of the Eyelets, truly gave to this country a new departure, enabling him to experience an economic development fulgurating and to stabilize its young democracy.
Like Greece, Spain and Portugal were two Mediterranean countries that were emerging from dictatorship and seeking to consolidate their newly restored democracies. Having been, for a long time, marginalised in Europe both economically and politically, Spain and Portugal also suffered from outdated industrial and agricultural sectors compared with the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC). Membership of the EEC appeared to be the ideal solution to the problems facing these countries in transition.
Since then, Portugal multiplied the efforts to be the “good pupil” of the Union, and a full member of all the projections of European construction (Euro, Schengen), convinced that that enabled him to have its place in the “heart” of the Union.
Its second presidency of the European Union, in the year 2000, was marked by the launching of initiatives of scale, like the strategy of Lisbon, was intended to make Europe “the economy of the most competitive knowledge and most dynamic of the world”, from here 2010 and the first UE-Africa meting.
Portugal contributes to a total value of 1,4% with the Community budget and receives more than 5% of the budget to the title in particular of the structural funds and of cohesion. These flows are determining for the correction of the Portuguese economy, since they represent each year between 2% and 3% of the Portuguese GDP. The Portuguese authorities thus make maintenance of Community solidarity one their priorities.