Portugal–Serbia relations
Encyclopedia
Portuguese-Serbian relations date back to 1917. Portugal
has an embassy in Belgrade
, while Serbia
has an embassy in Lisbon
. Despite support by Portugal for the independence of Kosovo
, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković
is keen to improve bilateral cooperation. Portugal is backing Serbia's accession to the European Union
(EU).
on October 19, 1917. Relations continued with the successor Kingdom of Yugoslavia
. The Portuguese recognized the government in exile of this state after the German occupation of 1941. Relations with the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
, which took power in 1945 after World War II
, were only established in 1974 after the Portuguese Carnation Revolution
. Following the dissolution of the SFR of Yugoslavia during the Yugoslav wars
, Portugal maintained relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, later reconstituted as Serbia and Montenegro
and finally as the Republic of Serbia after Montenegro
declared its independence in July 2006.
In April 1999, Portugal participated in the NATO bombing of Serbia
from the Aviano Air Base
in Italy
. Portugal also provided troops as part of NATO peacekeeping efforts in the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo in 1999. In April 1999 Serbia filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice
regarding Portugal's use of force in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As of 2007, Portugal still had about 300 troops in Kosovo.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
has an embassy in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, while Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
has an embassy in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. Despite support by Portugal for the independence of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković
Mirko Cvetkovic
Mirko Cvetković is a Serbian economist and the Prime Minister of Serbia as well as the Minister of Finance.-Biography:...
is keen to improve bilateral cooperation. Portugal is backing Serbia's accession to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(EU).
History
Portugal established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of SerbiaKingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
on October 19, 1917. Relations continued with the successor Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
. The Portuguese recognized the government in exile of this state after the German occupation of 1941. Relations with the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, which took power in 1945 after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, were only established in 1974 after the Portuguese Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
. Following the dissolution of the SFR of Yugoslavia during the Yugoslav wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, Portugal maintained relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, later reconstituted as Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
and finally as the Republic of Serbia after Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
declared its independence in July 2006.
In April 1999, Portugal participated in the NATO bombing of Serbia
1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
from the Aviano Air Base
Aviano Air Base
Aviano Air Base is a NATO Air Base under U.S. Air Force administration in northeastern Italy, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. It is located in Aviano municipality, at the foot of the Carnic Pre-Alps, or Southern Carnic Alps, about 15 kilometers from Pordenone.-Units:Aviano is hosted by the...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Portugal also provided troops as part of NATO peacekeeping efforts in the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo in 1999. In April 1999 Serbia filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
regarding Portugal's use of force in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As of 2007, Portugal still had about 300 troops in Kosovo.
Official meetings and statements
- In December 1997, President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan MilosevicSlobodan MiloševićSlobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
received Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime GamaJaime GamaJaime José de Matos da Gama, GCC, GCIH, GCL, GCMG , is a Portuguese politician.-Background:...
, to discuss strengthening bilateral relations. - In January 2002 The Foreign Minister of Portugal, Jaime Gama, returned to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in his capacity as OSCE Chairman-in-Office. The OSCE was engaged in stabilizing the situation in southern Serbia following the Kosovo WarKosovo WarThe term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
. - In November 2003, Serbia and MontenegroSerbia and MontenegroSerbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
President Svetozar MarovićSvetozar MarovicSvetozar Marović ; born March 31, 1955) is a lawyer and a Montenegrin politician. He was the only president of Serbia and Montenegro...
visited Portugal. During this visit he signed an agreement on the succession of Bilateral Agreements between the SFR of Yugoslavia and Portugal, extending prior agreements on tourism, business, scientific and technological cooperation, and cooperation in information. - In July 2005 Portuguese Minister of Defense Luís AmadoLuís AmadoLuís Filipe Marques Amado was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal in the government led by the Socialist Party. Before replacing Diogo Freitas do Amaral as Minister of Foreign Affairs on 30 June 2006, Amado was the Minister of Defence...
visited Serbia and Montenegro, where he discussed military cooperation with his Serbian counterpart. - In May, 2007, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luís Amado gave strong support for Serbian ambitions to join the European Union.
- In July 2007, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav KostunicaVojislav KoštunicaVojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
visited Lisbon. - In October 2008, Portugal recognized Kosovo's independence from Serbia. (See also Kosovan–Portuguese relations.)
- In November 2008, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luís Amado met with his Serbian counterpart Vuk JeremićVuk JeremicVuk Jeremić is a Serbian politician and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Serbia. He was sworn in on May 15, 2007 and reelected on July 7, 2008.-Education:Jeremić was born in Belgrade in 1975 to Miško Jeremić and Sena Buljubašić...
in Belgrade and voiced his support for removing the suspension of a trade agreement between Serbia and the European Union. Also that month, the Serbian Minister of Science and Technological Development met a Portuguese delegation and discussed cooperation in energy efficiency, nanotechnology and the food industry, with plans to sign a Cooperation Agreement on Science and Technology by the end of 2008. - In February 2009, Serbian Defence Minister Dragan SutanovacDragan ŠutanovacDragan Šutanovac is the current Minister of Defence in the Government of Serbia.- Background :...
met with his Portuguese counterpart Nuno Severiano TeixeiraNuno Severiano TeixeiraNuno Severiano Teixeira is a Portuguese politician.-Duties in the Government of Portugal:He was the Minister of Internal Administration in the 14th Constitutional Government of Portugal. He was the Minister of National Defense between 2006 and 2009.-External links:*...
. They signed an agreement on defense cooperation and discussed Serbia's NATO bid. - In June 2009, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko CvetkovicMirko CvetkovicMirko Cvetković is a Serbian economist and the Prime Minister of Serbia as well as the Minister of Finance.-Biography:...
met with Portuguese parliamentary speaker Jaime GamaJaime GamaJaime José de Matos da Gama, GCC, GCIH, GCL, GCMG , is a Portuguese politician.-Background:...
, and discussed improvements to bilateral cooperation.