Portugal's Former Leader Wins EU's Inaugural Honor for Individuals
Portugal's former Prime Minister and President, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, has become the sole Portuguese national among the inaugural 20 recipients of the European Order of Merit, a newly established honor recognizing individuals who have shaped the continent's integration. This is the first official EU award for individuals rather than organizations, created in May 2025 to commemorate 75 years since the Schuman Declaration. The ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg marks both a personal accolade for the 86-year-old statesman and a symbolic nod to Portugal's four-decade journey inside the European Union — though domestic political opinion on the honor remains sharply divided.
Why This Matters
• Historic first: The European Order of Merit, created in May 2025 to mark 75 years since the Schuman Declaration, is the first official EU distinction awarded to individuals rather than organizations.
• Portugal's sole representative: Among 20 laureates including Angela Merkel and Lech Wałęsa, Cavaco Silva is the only Portuguese recognized in this inaugural cohort, awarded the second-highest tier: Honorary Member.
• Political consensus fractures: While center-right and Socialist parties endorse the accolade, leftist MEPs from Bloco de Esquerda and the Communist Party cite Cavaco Silva's privatization legacy and deindustrialization policies as disqualifying factors.
The award arrives as Portugal commemorates 40 years since its 1986 accession to what was then the European Economic Community, a milestone intimately tied to Cavaco Silva's decade as Prime Minister from 1985 to 1995. The selection committee — which includes European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and former European Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso — cited Cavaco Silva's role in negotiating the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty, and stewarding Portugal through its critical first decade of EU membership.
A Decade That Transformed Portugal
Cavaco Silva assumed the premiership just months before Portugal formally joined the EEC. His governments presided over what economists often describe as the country's most dramatic convergence period with Western Europe: GDP per capita in purchasing power parity climbed from 59% of the average of Germany, France, and the UK in 1985 to 70% by 1995, an 11-percentage-point leap unmatched in any subsequent decade. Annual growth averaged above 4%, peaking at 7.86% in 1990.
This expansion was underpinned by massive infrastructure investment funded by European structural funds. Portugal's motorway network, a mere 303 km in 1990, expanded nearly fivefold to 1,482 km by 2000 — earning the era its nickname as the "decade of concrete." Major routes like the A1 (Lisbon-Porto), A2 (Lisbon-Algarve), and A3 (Porto-Braga) were largely completed during this period, fundamentally reshaping how residents and expatriates travel across the country today. Inflation, which stood at 20% in 1985, dropped to 4.2% by the time Cavaco Silva left office.
Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, speaking in Strasbourg, framed Cavaco Silva as "one of the architects of cohesion policy," arguing that Portugal's advocacy for regional development funds during the late 1980s helped shape the EU's redistributive framework. The government's negotiation of the Single European Act and participation in the Maastricht Treaty positioned Portugal as a committed federalist voice, even as the country absorbed the shocks of market liberalization.
The Privatization Debate Resurfaces
Yet the honor has reopened old wounds. Catarina Martins, Bloco de Esquerda MEP, stated flatly that Cavaco Silva's governments "distributed checks to dismantle agriculture, fisheries, and industry in Portugal." João Oliveira of the Portuguese Communist Party accused the former leader of "deindustrialization" and noted his political support for the troika-backed government during the 2011–2014 bailout period, when Cavaco Silva served as President.
Data from the period tells a complex story. Between 1986 and 2008, employment in fishing and agriculture halved, as did the fishing fleet's capacity and the number of agricultural holdings. Agricultural output grew by less than 25% in real terms; fishing output declined by roughly 7%. Critics point to EU-subsidized early retirement schemes and quota systems that, while aligned with Brussels policy, hollowed out Portugal's primary sectors.
Cavaco Silva's privatization drive, launched in 1989, transferred state-owned banks, insurers, and media companies to private hands — a move the Prime Minister described at the time as a task of "historical dimension." Opponents, including the CGTP labor confederation, condemned the policies as "neoliberal and neoconservative." Ironically, as President in 2013, Cavaco Silva publicly opposed the privatization of state broadcaster RTP, arguing the state should guarantee public television.
Political Reactions Split Along Familiar Lines
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro of the center-right PSD celebrated the distinction on social media, writing that it "honors his service to Portugal and European construction" and "brings prestige to Portugal and the Portuguese, especially for the qualitative leap and transformation example we showed during the decade of Cavaco Silva's leadership."
Socialist MEP Francisco Assis adopted a conciliatory tone, noting that while "we naturally have our divergences in a pluralist democracy," Cavaco Silva's decade as Prime Minister and his subsequent presidency were marked by "recognized and proclaimed Europeanist values." He added that the Portuguese government's nomination of Cavaco Silva was "a correct decision."
Iniciativa Liberal's João Cotrim Figueiredo praised the award as "very deserved," emphasizing that Portugal "grew more than 4% per year on average" during Cavaco Silva's tenure. "When one is courageous and makes reforms, growth is produced," Cotrim Figueiredo said, adding pointedly: "It's a lesson that could be applied now."
But consensus is far from universal. Beyond the left's objections, the ceremony underscores the enduring polarization around Portugal's economic trajectory since EU accession. While proponents credit Cavaco Silva with laying the foundations for a modern, outward-facing Portugal, critics see a country that sacrificed industrial capacity for short-term growth fueled by European subsidies and debt.
What This Means for Residents Today
For expatriates and long-term residents in Portugal, the award serves as a reminder of how deeply the country's political and economic identity is intertwined with EU membership. The infrastructure built during Cavaco Silva's tenure remains the backbone of daily life. Major highways like the A1 connecting Lisbon to Porto, the A2 linking Lisbon to the Algarve, and the A3 linking Porto to Braga — routes that residents use regularly for work commutes, weekend trips, and daily commerce — were substantially funded through EU cohesion funds secured during his premiership. The telecommunications networks rolled out during this era, laying the groundwork for Portugal's digital connectivity, continue to underpin internet and mobile services residents depend on today.
More broadly, the cohesion funds Cavaco Silva helped secure continue to finance regional development projects across the country, from metro expansions in Lisbon and Porto to rural broadband rollouts in the interior. EU-funded programs supporting small businesses, agricultural initiatives, and vocational training — many launched or shaped during the 1990s — remain embedded in Portugal's institutional landscape, affecting everything from business regulations residents encounter to employment opportunities.
Yet the unresolved debate over privatization and deindustrialization also reflects ongoing tensions. Portugal's reliance on tourism and relatively low wages — a model critics trace to the structural shifts of the 1990s — remains a flashpoint in discussions about economic sovereignty and labor conditions. Residents navigating Portugal's bureaucracy, housing market, or employment landscape are still living with the consequences of decisions made three decades ago. The hollowing out of agricultural and fishing sectors, for instance, means fewer domestic producers and higher reliance on imports for certain goods — a reality shoppers observe in Portuguese markets and supermarkets.
The European Order of Merit: A New Tradition
The European Order of Merit was established in May 2025 to commemorate 75 years since the Schuman Declaration, the 1950 proposal that launched European integration. It is the first official EU award for individuals, distinct from the Nobel Peace Prize the EU itself received in 2012.
The Order has three tiers: Member, Honorary Member, and Distinguished Member (the highest rank). Angela Merkel, Lech Wałęsa, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received the Distinguished Member designation; Cavaco Silva was awarded the second-highest tier. Up to 20 laureates may be recognized annually, with nominations coming from EU institution heads, heads of state or government, and national parliament presidents.
The selection committee — currently chaired by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and including former Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso, former French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, and outgoing EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell — evaluates candidates based on contributions to European unity, democracy, and fundamental values.
Cavaco Silva's Message: Unity in Uncertain Times
In his brief acceptance speech, Cavaco Silva struck a geopolitical note, warning that "in a time of strong instability and global uncertainty, armed conflicts and threats, where the voice of each country in isolation counts for little, the European Union is an asset of the greatest importance for all member states."
He invoked the memory of Jacques Delors, the former Commission President who once remarked that "Portugal participated in European integration as if it had been one of its founders." Cavaco Silva also recalled his decade as Prime Minister, describing it as a period of "giant steps in deepening integration," and his subsequent presidency, during which he "accompanied reflection and debate on Union reforms following the 2008 financial crisis."
President António José Seguro, who succeeded Cavaco Silva, issued a statement praising the award as "just recognition of the role played by Professor Cavaco Silva in favor of the European project and Portugal's integration." Seguro added that "in an increasingly challenging international context, Europe needs more than ever people with this vision, determination, and sense of collective responsibility."
The Symbolism of May 19
The ceremony took place on May 19 — a date Cavaco Silva noted with visible emotion was the 41st anniversary of his election as PSD party leader at the Figueira da Foz Congress in 1985, a turning point he described as "a very profound change in my life." That leadership win set the stage for his rise to Prime Minister and, ultimately, President.
For Portugal, the award offers a moment of reflection. Four decades after joining the European project, the country remains deeply embedded in EU structures — economically, legally, and culturally. Whether that integration represents a triumph of modernization or a Faustian bargain depends, as the Strasbourg ceremony made clear, on which side of Portugal's enduring political divide one stands.
