The European Union (EU) is the natural frame of political and economic development of our country, and that is why at this moment Spain assumes its responsibilities promoting a more effective, more democratic Union, closer to citizens, able to respond to the challenges and needs of the new century.
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From 1945-1959: A peaceful Europe: the dawn of cooperation.
2010-2019: A delicate decade.
Until 2020: Today.
European integration is a unique project that has enabled the European states to overcome a past marked by conflict and jointly develop a new common framework of political, economic and social understanding.
In 1977, the government of President Adolfo Suárez officially applied for membership of the EEC (now the European Union).
Eight years later, on 12 June 1985, the Accession Treaty was signed in Madrid and the effective integration of Spain into the European Economic Community took place on 1 January 1986.
In 1989, Spain incorporated its national currency (peseta) into the Exchange Mechanism of the European Monetary System, established in 1979 by other countries already members of the EEC.
In 1991 it signed the Schengen Agreement, a "Europe without Borders", which meant the gradual elimination of border controls between Member States.
The signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 gave the European Union its current name and the design of the road map towards a common currency.
Spain has held the six-monthly Presidency of the Council in forty Occasions:
The involvement of our country has been evident in the numerous Spaniards who have been occupying high positions in the European institutions.
El European Parliament It has been presided over by Spaniards on three occasions:
Josep Borrell Fontelles holds ((2019-2024) the position of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission.
For a decade, since 1999, Javier Solana held the position of high representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
La European Commission He counted on the presence of Spaniards in their respective portfolios of European Commissioners: Marcelino Oreja, Pedro Solbes, Loyola de Palacio, Abel Matutes, Manuel Marín, Joaquín Almunia and, since November 1, 2014, Miguel Arias Cañete.
Spain has been involved in the negotiation of the treaties of Amsterdam (1997), Nice (2001), the failed Constitutional Treaty (2004) and Lisbon (2009).
In addition, it has made contributions in various fields such as: citizenship, cohesion policy, cultural and linguistic diversity, judicial cooperation or the fight against terrorism, and in foreign relations, especially in relation to the policy oriented towards Latin America and the southern shore of the Mediterranean.
In December 1995, coinciding with the end of the second Spanish Presidency of the EU, the denomination of "euro" for the common European currency, which was successfully implemented from January 2002.
This has meant the effective materialization of a unifying project such as the EMU (Economic and Monetary Union) which aspires to the economic integration of all Member States.
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