The former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said today that this recognition of Portugal, through the award given to him by the President of the Republic Cavaco Silva, means that "the decision was correct" when he left the Government in 2004.
Cavaco Silva said in a short by glowing tribute that "Portugal has benefitted greatly by the fact that we have had as the head of the European Union a Portuguese person who knows Portuguese reality, understands the world, and has the prestige of Barroso," before handing Barroso the ‘Grande Colar da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique’ to a ripple of polite applause.
The Prime Minister Passos Coelho, who was at the award ceremony in the Sala das Bicas at the Palace of Belém in Lisbon, added that Portugal had benefited from having Barroso as head of the European Commission.
A gushing PM said that "Barroso always paid careful attention to the problems of our country, he tried to help Portugal in addressing the difficulties it faced, he mobilised support for Portugal so we could achieve our desired objectives, and he opened doors to economic and social development in Portugal."
Cavaco Silva kicked off the 'love in' by stating that the award presented today is a "very just tribute" to the man who had been the President of the European Commission for the last 10 years, deeming Barroso’s job "the highest international position ever held by a Portuguese person."
"He did it with competence, wisdom and a dedication to the European project.”
"In Portugal we have had no other contemporary Portuguese politician who has had such a great influence in the international arena," opined the President.
According to Cavaco Silva, himself an economist, Barroso "played a decisive role in making Europe overcome the crises that have happened in the past decade," with the approval of the Lisbon Treaty, which ended the "political and institutional deadlock" and started the enlargement of the EC from 15 to 28 member states, and the "financial crisis of sovereign debt, which put into question the breaking up the eurozone and even breaking up the European Union."
No mention was made of Barrosos protracted departure from his post some five months after his successor Jean-Claude Juncker was named. The EU decision making machine has been in hold during this period.
Gold stars were awarded for attendance to Passos Coelho’s ministerial acolytes Pires de Lima (Economy), Assunçao Cristas (Agriculture), Mota Soares (Employment and Social Security), the Minister of Foreign Affairs Rui Machete and the Minister of the Presidency and Parliamentary Affairs, Marques Guedes, and the surprise appearance of former Finance Minister, Manuela Ferreira Leite.
The ‘Grande Colar da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique' has been awarded to such luminaries of the past including the Shah of Iran and Portugal's own dictator António de Oliveira Salazar.
