ΣΥΓΧΡΟΝΟΣ ΕΥΡΩΠΑΙΚΟΣ ΣΥΝΤΑΓΜΑΤΙΣΜΟΣ

Contemporary european constitutionalism Greek and Portugal memoranda as a turning point Panagiotis A. Tsafos, PhD, Political Science and Public Administration, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens ISBN 978-960-654-626-6 Abstract: European constitutionalism is the common ground of a constitutional interpretive community, through the "constitutionalization" of the international law and the gradual emergence of a “new” European model, which contains criti- cal democratic elements such as political autonomy and state sovereignty. In this context, the "Memoranda" of Greece and Portugal are a turning point for the Eu- ropean constitutionalism. To be more specific, financial crisis’constitutional effects, because of the "Memoranda", create a "model" -case study- through a comparative legal-economic-political review, in which there are specific characteristics such as: similarexogenousandendogenouscausesofthespecificstatesthat intensifiedtheir exposure to the 2008 crisis, a similar change in electoral behavior due to the "Mem- oranda", a differentiation in confronting with the crisis, due to different electoral sys- tem between two states, and finally, an endangerment of labor rights and parallel selectiveshrinkageof individualrights.Asaresult,a lawphenomenonknownas"ne- cessity law" brought both states into a condition, in which the "economic" element came before the "political". As a result, constitutional state is changing, in the sense that its autonomous power is being dismantled, redefining its state sovereignty and political autonomy into a European Union’s“shadow federation”. In this context, constitutional state’s sovereignty is transforming as it follows: on the one hand, state sovereignty is divided between national and supranational level, on the other hand, constitutional state’s autonomy is shrinking. COPYRIGHT All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in a retriev- al system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permis- sion of NOMIKI BIBLIOTHIKI S.A., or as expressly permitted by law or under the terms agreed with the appropriate reprographic rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction which may not be covered by the above should be addressed to NO- MIKI BIBLIOTHIKI S.A. at the address below. DISCLAIMER The content of this work is intended for information purposes only and should not be treated as legal advice.The publication is necessarily of a general nature; NOMIKI BIBLIOTHIKI, the author and the contributors make no claim as to the comprehen- siveness or accuracy of the information provided; Information is not offered for the purpose of providing individualized legal advice. Professional advice should there- fore be sought before any action is undertaken based on this publication. Use of this work does not create an attorney-client or any other relationship between the user and NOMIKI BIBLIOTHIKI, or the author, or the rest of contributors. LawPublishers inEurope 23 Mavromichali str. | 106 80 | Athens | Greece T +30 210 3678 800 | F +30 210 3678 819 www.nb.org | info@nb.org © 2022, NOMIKI BIBLIOTHIKI S.A. Also available at: www. qualex .gr