European Affairs

Welcome to the Assembly of the Republic’s webpage on the European Union.

For the first time in the history of the construction of Europe, the Treaty of Lisbon includes a series of references to the National Parliaments, which it says contribute actively to the good functioning of the European Union (Article 12 TEU).

On this page you can find information about the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force on 1 December 2009. Above all, you can see how the Treaty strengthens the National Parliaments’ powers in the European legislative process, and specifically how the Assembly of the Republic has been working in this field and the way in which it intends to exercise these new powers.

The fact is that with the Treaty of Lisbon, the Portuguese Parliament is invited to send the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission a reasoned opinion whenever it concludes that a draft European legislative act does not respect the principle of subsidiarity and, within the overall framework of the political dialogue with the European Commission, whenever it feels that it ought to pronounce itself on the content of such a draft.

Under the terms of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic – Articles 161n, 163f, 164p and 197(1)i – and Law no. 43/2006 of 25 August 2006, the Assembly of the Republic already possesses competences with regard to monitoring, considering and pronouncing itself on Portugal’s participation in the process of constructing the European Union.

Law no. 43/2006 defines the way in which the Portuguese Parliament can monitor, consider and pronounce itself on proposals from the European institutions, and also provides for a regular process of consultation with the Government.

This consideration and pronunciation process involves the whole Parliament, from the various Committees with responsibility for the matter in question and the European Affairs Committee to the Plenary itself, as you can also see by consulting the various pages we offer you here.

The way in which the National Parliaments relate to one another and the relationships they have developed with the European institutions are another of the aspects you can explore on this website. Finally, you can also clarify a range of doubts you may have by consulting the "frequent questions" section.

We hope that this initiative achieves the goal of providing you with access to information about the work which the Parliament does in relation to the construction of the European Union.

Happy surfing!