The European Parliament and Portuguese Decolonisation (1974–7)

This contribution investigates the European Parliament (EP)’s engagement with the Portuguese decolonisation process. Focusing on the period from 1974 to 1977, it primarily draws on sources from the Historical Archives of the European Union and the Historical Archives of the European Parliament to analyse key plenary and committee debates, parliamentary questions, reports and resolutions. Starting in the immediate aftermath of the Carnation Revolution, this article first scans parliamentary perceptions of Portugal’s dual transition to democracy and decolonisation, arguing that the prospect of closer political ties with Portugal never resulted in a deeper parliamentary discussion of a shared European colonial past. Building on this internal-level result, the article then explores the EP’s external perceptions of relations with the newly independent Lusophone African states along two lines of analysis. On the one hand, it examines the reframing of reciprocal relationships within the multilateral framework of the Lomé Convention, showing how this new setting replaced any reflection on the origins and implications of the association policy. On the other hand, it investigates parliamentary responses to the contradictory policies of European Economic Community member states in Angola in the context of the Cold War. The article concludes that the amnesia about the cultural and political implications of colonialism contributed to ambiguous understandings of decolonisation and racial discrimination in debates on southern Africa, revealing the persistence of cross-party assumptions and unresolved stereotypes.