Austerity on the loose in Portugal: European judicial restraint in times of crisis

Abstract

The international bailout granted to Portugal between 2011 and 2014 was conditional on the adoption by the Portuguese State of austerity measures included in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the European Commission on behalf of the European Union (EU) and the Member States. The MoU was never published in an official journal or even translated into the Portuguese language. Its implementation caused a significant decrease in the level of protection of social rights.

Keywords

• Bailouts
• Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
• Social Constitution of the EU
• Financial crisis
• Portugal
• Memorandum of Understanding