This paper investigates the weight of colonial issues in shaping relations between the European Community (EC) and Portugal from the viewpoint of the European Parliamentary Assembly (EPA)/European Parliament. The research period spans Lisbon's 1962 request for association with the European Community to its 1986 accession. Existing studies on the EPA's role in the relationship between European integration and decolonisation primarily focus on the "particular ties" maintained by funding EC member states with Sub-Saharan Africa, with little attention given to Portugal's colonial empire. Through archival sources, this research explores parties and group dynamics in the plenary and within the internal commission encharged, covering critical moments in EC–Lisbon relations, including the signature of the 1972 Trade Agreement. By comparing debates, resolutions and interrogations, the analysis investigates whether colonial issues were considered as significant as the dictatorial nature of the Portuguese regime. Despite its limited powers, the EPA/EP has been the most active institution in condemning the Portuguese colonial wars. Moreover, it repeatedly denounced the Council's inconsistent stance and the incoherent policies of EC member states in Lusophone Africa, as discussions around the Cabora Bassa project highlight. However, declarations on equality were often accompanied by references to the European civilising mission. Additionally, as founding Member States did with their former colonies, the third enlargement did not come with a thorough discussion on a shared colonial past. This outcome was favoured by the overlap between democratic transition and decolonisation, contributing to widespread confusion over how to address racial segregation in southern Africa.

This paper investigates the weight of colonial issues in shaping relations between the European Community (EC) and Portugal from the viewpoint of the European Parliamentary Assembly (EPA)/European Parliament. The research period spans Lisbon's 1962 request for association with the European Community to its 1986 accession. Existing studies on the EPA's role in the relationship between European integration and decolonisation primarily focus on the "particular ties" maintained by funding EC member states with Sub-Saharan Africa, with little attention given to Portugal's colonial empire. Through archival sources, this research explores parties and group dynamics in the plenary and within the internal commission encharged, covering critical moments in EC–Lisbon relations, including the signature of the 1972 Trade Agreement. By comparing debates, resolutions and interrogations, the analysis investigates whether colonial issues were considered as significant as the dictatorial nature of the Portuguese regime. Despite its limited powers, the EPA/EP has been the most active institution in condemning the Portuguese colonial wars. Moreover, it repeatedly denounced the Council's inconsistent stance and the incoherent policies of EC member states in Lusophone Africa, as discussions around the Cabora Bassa project highlight. However, declarations on equality were often accompanied by references to the European civilising mission. Additionally, as founding Member States did with their former colonies, the third enlargement did not come with a thorough discussion on a shared colonial past. This outcome was favoured by the overlap between democratic transition and decolonisation, contributing to widespread confusion over how to address racial segregation in southern Africa.

Despite a body of scholarship on the Iberian empires, Portugal has traditionally been overlooked compared to the British and French empires. Nevertheless, the simultaneity between the fall of the empire and the advent of democracy in Portugal is a unique case in Europe. After the Carnation Revolution (April 25, 1974), Portugal left the African colonies and entered the European Economic Community in 1986. During the democratic transition, Portugal rethought the discourses on national identity, distancing itself from the African empire and colonialism. In 1974, Law 7/74 recognised the right to independence for African peoples. In 1976, the new political elite approved the constitution, a crucial document often considered a state’s 'identity card'. Looking at the debates within the Constituent Assembly, other archival sources, and political choices related to the transition phase (1974-1976), this research aims to analyse how Portugal conceived itself as a post-colonial nation after decolonisation. Under Salazarism, the African empire was a crucial aspect of national identity. The imperial rhetoric supported a vision of Portugal as a multi-ethnic nation, according to the luso-tropical myth. In the aftermath of the revolution, decree-law n°308-A/75 granted Portuguese citizenship to the descendants of Portuguese citizens up to the third generation, prioritising the principle of ius sanguinis. This measure implicitly established a barrier between Africa and Europe, excluding from citizenship most people of African descent. Therefore, considering the early stage of democratic transition is a particularly pertinent viewpoint when addressing colonial ties in Portugal.

Scholarship on the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) has often overlooked the organisation’s international dimensions despite their crucial role in shaping its development. This paper explores the PAC’s complex engagement with European governments and anti-apartheid organisations, focusing on how it leveraged international alliances to extend its influence beyond South Africa. These connections influenced the internal dynamics of the anti-apartheid struggle and global discourses on Black identity and solidarity. Focusing on the period from 1961, when the PAC was banned, to 1990, when negotiations to end apartheid began, this study draws on primary sources such as Azania News, Azania Combat, PAC correspondence, and documents from the Anti-Apartheid Movement Collection at the Bodleian Library and the PAC Collection at the NAEHCS Archive in Fort Hare. The research highlights how the establishment of European offices and support networks expanded the PAC’s operational capacity by providing logistical and financial resources and amplifying its message on international platforms. This expansion was not without contradictions. Despite its commitment to Black nationalist ideology, the PAC collaborated with white activists and organisations to bolster its efforts. The PAC’s radical vision also frequently clashed with European political realities and colonial legacies. Additionally, European states’ economic and diplomatic ties to apartheid South Africa complicated these alliances. By analysing the PAC’s navigation of these tensions, this paper underscores the complexities of transnational resistance and illuminates the entangled histories of African liberation movements and European political landscapes.