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Spain Spain and the European Community
As Spain began to emerge from its postwar isolation,
successive Franco cabinets sought to establish closer ties
with
Europe. After Franco's death, this became Spain's major
diplomatic goal. The desire to be recognized as a member
of the
West European democratic societies was a primary
motivating
factor in Spain's attempts to gain membership in the
European
Community (EC).
Spain had become an associate member of the
Organisation for
European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) in 1958 and a full
member
of that organization's successor, the Organisation for
Economic
Co-operation and Development
(OECD--see Glossary), in
1959. It
also had gained membership in the
World Bank (see Glossary). The
EC, however, was much more reluctant to have Spain join
its
ranks. Agreement for a preferential commercial trade pact
was
reached in March 1970, after six years of negotiations,
but it
was a strictly economic accord. The continued existence of
undemocratic governmental institutions in Spain was
strongly
resented by member countries of the EC, and it continued
to be a
barrier to Spanish accession.
Shortly after Spain's first democratically elected
government
in more than forty years came to power in June 1977, Prime
Minister Suarez dispatched his foreign minister to
Brussels to
present Spain's formal application to join the EC. The
major
political parties in Spain, divided over other issues, all
firmly
supported this attempt to advance Spain's modernization as
well
as its international legitimation. Prospects for the
approval of
this application were enhanced by the implementation of
democratic policies by the post-Franco governments.
European
attitudes toward Spain began to improve, and Spain was
admitted
to membership in the
Council of Europe (see Glossary), in
November 1977. The Spanish government's determination to
continue
moving in the direction of closer relations with Europe
was
manifested in the creation in February 1978 of a new
cabinetlevel position, that of minister in charge of relations
with
Europe.
Nevertheless, negotiations for Spain's accession to the
EC
were complicated and protracted. After Spain had acquired
the
necessary democratic credentials, the economic
implications of
the prospective Spanish accession caused misgivings among
EC
members. Spain's level of economic development was
significantly
lower than that of other member nations, and its
industrial
sector was in need of profound structural reform. There
were also
difficulties concerning Spain's fishing fleets. It was in
the
area of agriculture, however, that the potential
consequences of
Spanish membership created the greatest concern among EC
members,
particularly France. These and other factors would
necessitate
substantial increases in budget expenditures on the part
of the
EC, which was already experiencing a financial crisis
(see Spain and the European Community
, ch. 3).
After lengthy bargaining, agreements were reached on
these
issues, and a Treaty of Accession was signed in the summer
of
1985. On January 1, 1986, Spain finally entered the EC,
along
with Portugal. The terms of the Treaty of Accession were
less
than favorable to Spain, making the country a net
contributor to
the EC budget for several years, but there was no popular
or
governmental protest. A major nonpartisan foreign policy
objective had been achieved, and most Spaniards savored
the longawaited feeling of formal inclusion in the West European
society
of nations.
Their enthusiasm was tempered in subsequent months, as
issues, such as the barring of Spanish fishermen from
Moroccan
waters because of an EC dispute with Morocco, made clear
that not
all aspects of EC membership would be beneficial to Spain.
A poll
taken in the spring of 1987 revealed that a large majority
of
Spaniards believed that entry into the EC had not helped
Spain.
Farmers were particularly dissatisfied with the
consequences of
the EC's Common Agricultural Policy. Nevertheless, the
same poll
indicated that a majority of Spaniards favored EC
membership and
that their sense of being "citizens of Europe" was
increasing.
Data as of December 1988
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