When Portugal took on the Presidency of the European Union for the first time in 1992, Anibal Cavaco Silva was Prime Minister. There were 12 nations, so things were rather different. It was the Europ[...]

When Portugal took on the Presidency of the European Union for the first time in 1992, Anibal Cavaco Silva was Prime Minister. There were 12 nations, so things were rather different. It was the Europe of Maastricht, a contraversial treaty but one which they succeeded in passing. Fifteen years later, Cavaco Silva has come to the European Parliament , and in the role of President, during the Portuguease presidency. He has come to ask the 27 nations to make an effort to unblock the constitutional Treaty.