More, better, or another way for Europe: the debates on EU affairs at the Portuguese parliament

The plenary is arguably the most important platform for members of parliament (MPs) to communicate not only with the other MPs but also with the general public. Drawing on the debates held in the plenary of the Portuguese parliament over the period 1986–2015, Alice Cunha analyses how Portuguese MPs envision the European integration process and evaluate the country’s EU membership. The results show that about 4% of all plenary sessions were about EU affairs during the last 30 years, with some question marks over the substance of the debates in these sessions.