28/10/2026
The Mário Soares and Maria Barroso Foundation is taking part in the fourth international event of the European project FREI - From Resistance to European Integration, taking place in Athens, Greece, on 29 and 30 October 2026.
Under the theme “Overcoming the Past: The Heritage of Civil War and Dictatorship, the Greek Democratic Path”, the event brings together participants from several European countries to reflect on the memory of dictatorships, resistance, contemporary challenges to democracy, and the role of European integration in defending democratic values.
To mark this occasion, we look back, through a selection of photographs, at the state visit of Mário Soares and Maria Barroso to Greece in December 1988.
In a speech delivered on 12 December, at a dinner hosted by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Christos Sartzetakis, Mário Soares highlighted the historical ties between the two countries, which had followed similar paths in their transitions from dictatorship to democracy.
Advocating an open, united Europe founded on solidarity and social justice, he stated:
“For our part, we want a Europe of free citizens, where people, ideas and goods can move without barriers, serving a common development policy that must be based on solidarity and have a clear dimension of social justice.”
📸 Photos from Luís Vasconcelos (FMSMB/Casa Comum).
