The Trilateral Commission Background on the Portuguese group

Last updated 19 October, 1996.

The Portuguese group of the Trilateral Commission, set at 5 members, was established at the invitation of the Chairman of the European side, who then was Georges Berthoin. At the European Meeting in Madrid, November 26-27 1979, this invitation was warmly endorsed by the host country Chairman, current European vice-chairman Carlos Ferrer, president of the Confederation of Spanish Employers.

Antonio Vasco de Mello, then President of the Confederation of Portuguese Industry (CIP) was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Trilateral Commission. With the first group, he prepared the European meeting which was held in Lisbon on 29-30 October 1983. This meeting revealed that employers wanted European integration, thus paving the way to Portugal's accession to the European Community. As the date announced at the Meeting by the Minister of Finance was June 1984 for the signature and January 1986 for entry, it also showed to European Members that Spain's entrepreneurs saw no threat in Portugal joining first. Since Portugal's circumstances were distinct from Spain's, the joint signature in June 1985 was merely an administrative convenience. After 3 three year terms, in 1988, there was a full rotation of the Portuguese group, and the new group organized the candidacy to the Plenary Meeting in Lisbon, 25-27 April 1992.

The Portuguese group has stressed that, just like Portugal was able to overcome the post-revolutionary turmoil of 1975, join the European Community in 1986 and maintain financial stability since 1992, the same can happen to countries in non-trilateral areas which show political will and follow correct policies. Portugal is a clear example of the triumph of political, economic and financial freedom in an area which was not at the core of any of the three trilateral regions.

A total of 14 individuals form the membership of the Portuguese group, 9 past, 2 current and 3 proposed. Past membership includes a former Prime Minister and several other government or parliamentary positions. In 1995 Antonio Vasco de Mello asked Jorge Braga de Macedo, who was just leaving Parliament (and - as it turns out - had a 12 year professional experience with CIP) to replace him at the ExCom. They agreed on proposing new members when a durable support system could be found. This was achieved in 1996, with the creation of Forum Portugal Global (FPG).

The founders of FPG are 9 corporations in strategic sectors of the Portuguese economy, who want to help manage interdependence in the trilateral as well as in the non-trilateral areas in which they are involved. To that aim they propose to debate with policymakers and academics the domestic implications of different globalization strategies on the part of trilateral regions. In line with this approach, the three proposed new members António Mexia, João de Menezes Ferreira and Salvador Guedes are backed by the corporations with which they are affiliated, respectively Banco Essi, ML&GT and Sogrape.

The chairman of the Portuguese group was invited to participate in the consultations with the European author Bill Emmott on the future of trilateralism promoted by the French group on 26 September, in the presence of the European chairman Otto Lambsdorff.

P.S. An earlier version was presented at the first meeting of Forum Portugal Global, on 17 September, 1996. It was also discussed at the Paris office on 27 September. Nevertheless, I remain responsible for the text. Send questions or comments to Jorge Braga de Macedo.