Q & AEurope

Toward an EU Bailout Package for Portugal?

Portugal's failure to pass an austerity plan and slash its budget deficit led Prime Minister Jose Socrates to resign yesterday and appears to put the country on an accelerated track toward a European Union-funded bailout package.

Concerns are rising that this could lead to a bailout "domino effect," with the Los Angeles Times reporting that "if Portugal needs a bailout, investors may begin to bet that struggling Spain will follow."

A wider question involves Europe's ability to sustain so many bailouts in the long term. But the EU may not have much choice, according to World Politics Review contributor Daniel McDowell, who tells Trend Lines, "Europe can't really afford to consider not bailing out Portugal -- and potentially more countries like Spain and Greece."

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

BEGIN YOUR WPR SUBSCRIPTION NOW

More World Politics Review