Eduardo González/Ane Barcos
The Royal Palace in Madrid hosted the institutional event this Thursday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the signing of the EU Accession Treaty. A high-level ceremony was affected by the UCO report, which led to the resignation of the PSOE’s number three, Santos Cerdán, and forced Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to apologize to the public and announce an external audit of the party.
To begin with, whether or not it is related to the news about the PSOE, the event was not attended by the two most important living representatives of that party: the then Prime Minister, Felipe González (also of the PSOE), and the King Emeritus, Juan Carlos I.
Nor were former Prime Ministers José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy, the Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz (who was prosecuted this week), the President of the Autonomous Community, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, or the ministers of Sumar (the Vice President, Yolanda Díaz, was in Geneva, but the Ministers of Health and Culture, Mónica García and Ernest Urtasun, had been announced).
Also absent was the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Party sources told the Europa Press agency that their “support for the Crown is undeniable,” but that, “in this climate of institutional degradation due to Pedro Sánchez, the PSOE, and his Executive,” they could not “participate in the festivities with the Prime Minister.” On the PP side, only the President of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, was present, the fourth highest-ranking official in the State after the King, the President of the Government, and the President of Congress.
On the EU side, the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen and Roberta Metsola, respectively, were expected to attend, but ultimately only the President of the European Council, António Costa, attended.
Pedro Sánchez
During the event, Pedro Sánchez highlighted Spain’s evolution over the past four decades. “During these last 40 years, we Spaniards have experienced the best period in our history, without a doubt,” he declared. In these decades, he asserted, the country has managed to double its GDP per capita, halve the unemployment rate, increase life expectancy by eleven years, and mitigate poverty and inequality. All of this has allowed for the construction of “a first-class welfare state.”
He also argued that Spain has “gone from being a young and fragile democracy to a full-fledged one,” although with “undoubted shortcomings, like all others, with problems still pending.” However, he emphasized that “levels of representation and transparency equal to or greater than many other democracies” have been achieved, which were viewed with admiration four decades ago.
In this modernization process, the European Union has played a key role, according to Sánchez, providing financial support and generating opportunities in areas such as education, science, culture, and innovation. However, the president also wanted to highlight Spain’s contribution to the common project: “Spain has never doubted the European project, not even in the worst of times,” he asserted, claiming that the country has been “at the forefront of all those Member States that have worked to advance Europe.”
Among Spain’s contributions to the Union, Sánchez highlighted its involvement in the design of cohesion policies, the integration of the single market, the enlargement of the Union and the Schengen area, as well as its promotion of new community instruments. “Spain has ceased to be one of the caboose of European progress and has become one of its main drivers,” he stated. In this regard, he noted that the country generated 50% of economic growth and 30% of new employment in the eurozone last year.
In the social sphere, the president highlighted achievements such as the promotion of European citizenship, the elimination of roaming, the common health insurance card, and European housing policies. He also gave special recognition to Manuel Marín, to whom he attributed an essential role in the construction of Europe.
Sánchez also defended a Europe open to the world, with Spain acting as a “geographic bridge to the south” and as a link with Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and North America. “Europe rose from the ashes of war as a promise of peace,” he recalled, and called for respect for indifference to conflicts such as those in Gaza or Ukraine: “We cannot bury European dignity under the rubble of Gaza,” he warned.
However, he warned against nationalist discourses that question the European project: “Some argue the opposite: that the problem is Europe and the solution is a mere sum of supposedly sovereign nations. But in this world of giants, that vision is absolutely erroneous. It is a huge mistake.”
He concluded his speech by emphasizing that “now it is we who must contribute to strengthening, transforming, and advancing Europe for the better. A change that is only possible with more Europe.”
The King
At the closing ceremony, King Felipe VI spoke in which he emotionally recalled June 12, 1985, a day marked by the contrast between “the pain of terrorism taking lives” and “a firm will to move forward in what represented a real future for Spain.”
He also emphasized that the signing of the treaty, which took place in the same Hall of Columns of the Royal Palace where Thursday’s ceremony was held, put an end to “a historical cycle that had distanced and isolated us for too long from a Europe to which, by geography, by history, and by choice, we belong.”
The monarch recalled how he personally experienced that founding stage of European integration during his youth. “I had just finished high school, I was 17 years old, and in September I was beginning my military training. I remember well that shared feeling of being at the heart of something great, with a mixture of nerves, hope, and eagerness to get started.”
He emphasized that his generation was the first to come of age in a fully democratic Spain, in the process of European integration. “We have been fortunate to live our entire adult life living the dream that several generations of Spaniards yearned to fulfill, but were unable to see materialize.”
Felipe VI expressed his gratitude to those who made that legacy possible: “Our grandparents imagined this reality; our parents completed an effort that successfully restored freedoms and democracy, as well as European integration. We are heartfelt thanks to all of them.”
He encouraged people to look to the future without taking the achievements for granted: “The real challenge now is to go even further, to involve those who were already born into a consolidated environment. They should not take it for granted or as something irreversible.” He called on young people to embrace the European project, not out of nostalgia or inertia, but “out of the deep conviction that the European project deserves to be defended, vindicated, cared for, and renewed.”
The King warned that “freedom and democracy are not guaranteed achievements. They are defended every day in a collective endeavor that will only endure if it remains a living work of art. It won’t be easy, I dare say, but the stakes are too high.”
“Our bond with Europe was forged in the desire for freedom and democracy; and it was consolidated in the advancement of social cohesion and economic convergence toward shared prosperity,” he continued. “Let us not, therefore, allow divisions and conflicts to weaken the very thing that was born to overcome them and that has been the greatest guarantee of peace, freedom, and prosperity in our history,” he concluded.
António Costa
For his part, the President of the European Council, António Costa, stated at the event that “Spain’s accession was not just an economic step, it was a profoundly political act.” “More than a market, what Spain contributed was more democracy,” he emphasized.
The former Portuguese Prime Minister framed the simultaneous entry of Spain and Portugal into the then European Economic Community as a decisive moment of democratic convergence. “Both countries together wrote the most brilliant chapter in their recent history, embracing a democratic Europe with conviction and enthusiasm,” he noted.
The President of the European Council also highlighted Spain’s profound transformation over these four decades, emphasizing its evolution toward an open, innovative, and fully integrated economy within the European environment. “The Spanish economy grew by 123% thanks to the opening of its market to the European space,” he stated, adding that the country has developed “a highly qualified citizenry and globally leading companies.”
He also praised Spain’s active commitment to building the common project. “Spain has been at the forefront and has become a benchmark in the advancement of rights and freedoms, and in the fight for equality,” he said. Among Spain’s contributions to European integration, he cited European citizenship, the Erasmus program, and territorial cohesion as examples of initiatives that are now fully consolidated.
