ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes various kinds of Europeanization. Portugal is regarded as a semiperipheral country in terms of its standing in the world economy and therefore peripheral to the whole European Union decision-making process. The smooth evolutionary process towards a new European Union multilevel governance system was constructed mostly by political and administrative elites. In addition, the Euro constitutes the first major symbol of a systemic integration between the supranational level and the national political systems. Governance comprises the political institutions, civil society actors and the sum of all processes between the entities. Political parties are embedded in transnational networks and adopt common policy positions that may have a top-down impact on national parties. Bottom-up Europeanization is the ability of national actors to influence main paradigms of European integration. Top-down and bottom-up Europeanization are bringing the member-states together towards what one could call horizontal, transnational Europeanization.
