<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares stated this Thursday that, without Spain's accession to the European Union, which marks its fortieth anniversary, "the profound political, economic, and social transformation that today places Spain among the most advanced countries in the world and a clear driving force of the current European Union would not be explained."</strong></h4> “Today is one of those dates that will be marked in our history as a before and after, and without a doubt today, June 12, 1985, the date we commemorate, is one of them,” a commemoration that also coincides with “a new date, June 11, where we reached a historic agreement for a new framework for coexistence between Gibraltar and Campo de Gibraltar,” Albares stated during the inauguration of the 40th anniversary of Spain's accession to the European Union, part of the "Spain, 50 Years of Freedom" program and held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Marqués de Salamanca (Madrid). “Today marks 40 years since our country achieved what for generations of Spaniards was simply a dream, an aspiration at best: the dream of so many generations of Spaniards who saw Europe as the answer, the aspiration of all democrats who, during the dark decades of the dictatorship, looked to Europe with a thirst for freedom, a thirst for justice, a thirst for democracy,” he continued. “Spain has always carried Europe in its heart, and today we can say that, four decades after our accession, we are at the heart of Europe. We are at every table where our shared future is anticipated, proposed, and decided,” he asserted. “Today, Spain no longer looks to Europe for an answer; rather, we are building, with Europe, a joint response to the challenges and opportunities that confront us, and on many occasions, we are leading that response,” he added. For all these reasons, he stated, "today is a day of celebration," but also "a day for reflection," because the "four pillars of social justice, economic progress, democracy, and peace, upon which we built our union and which have brought us the greatest decades of peace, progress, and freedom in our history, are today being questioned by those who have never believed in them, by those who prefer the law of the strongest to multilateralism, privilege to social justice, authoritarianism to democracy and freedom, violence to peace." "That is why today is a day to reaffirm our values, our democratic values, and our pro-European conviction, and to be clear that today defending the national interest, defending the interests of Spain, means defending Europe," he affirmed. “The most important challenges we face—climate change, international peace, the fight against pandemics, economic development, international security—can only be answered from Europe and with more Europe,” and therefore, “in this world of great political and economic powers, true Spanish patriotism is European patriotism,” he warned. “In a world where the values of confrontation, division, conflict, and intolerance are advancing, Europe is the great benchmark for everything worth protecting,” he insisted. “Today we remember and celebrate the accession treaty to what was then called the European Community,” Albares affirmed. “The signing of the accession treaty was the culmination of a long process and, at the same time, a step of very special significance in the consolidation of our democratic transition after the dictatorship,” he continued. “In 1985, our shared desire to become part of the European project became a reality, with a clear desire for freedom, equality, and a clear commitment to establishing the rule of law and the full recognition and protection of human rights,” the minister stated. “Without Europe, without Spain's accession to the European Union, the profound political, economic, and social transformation that today places Spain among the most advanced countries in the world and a clear driving force of the current European Union would be impossible to explain. We are a benchmark in economic growth, modernity, equality, tolerance, and solidarity,” he asserted.
