The Struggle for the Europeanisation of Spain

Organised by

• Historical Archives of the European Union

In this De Gasperi seminar, PhD candidate Marta Alorda will present some of the findings of her doctoral research on the negotiations on Spain’s accession to the European Community, which ran from 1979 to 1985. In her PhD thesis, she challenges traditional interpretations of the Spanish accession by exploring the dynamics of negotiations over Spain’s economic integration into the EC. She analyses EC membership negotiations on three economic sectors – industry, fisheries, and agriculture. This study goes beyond the political statements about Spain’s entry into the EC and investigates the decisions and actions of both the Spanish authorities and the Community regarding the de facto ‘Europeanisation’ of Spain. It sheds new light on the Community-Spain relations during the first half of the 1980s and the role of Spain within the EC’s southern enlargement. This seminar aims to examine how the Spanish administrations and the Community struggled to determine the form and speed of the Europeanisation of Spain, taking negotiations on the industrial sector as a case study.

The event will take place online.