Economic and Political History of Spain in the European Union
Abstract
One could sum up in one sentence the economic situation of Spain in the last
ten years, since it became a part of the European Community, that is: "Spanish
people have been living above our own possibilities." 1986 was a year of great importance for the economy of Spain. From January I st, 1986 Spain became a part of the E. C., nowadays known as the European Union (E.U.), enjoying all the benefits and rights that being a member of the Union implies. The first consequences of the integration in the E. U. were very auspicious for the Spanish Economy. For the rest of the members, Spain was that country
rising in the skyline as an unique market full of possibilities for investment and
development. The result was an intense foreign investment that made the Spanish
Economy grow over the average of the Community.
Nevertheless, the reality over the last ten years was a little bit different in that
the original dream and all the expectations ended up being just that, expectations ...
Life goes on and Spain needs to make some radical changes in its political
economy in order to obtain the greatest benefit from being in the E.U., now it is
time for a change but, How could it be accomplished? Through this paper, I will
try to analyze what has it meant for Spain to be in the E. U. during these
particularly past ten years and try to establish some theses about its economic
development, why it went the way it did and what could be the forecasts for the
Spanish Economy.