Spain’s Integration into Europe and the 1978 Constitution
Integration in Europe
We are facing a historiographical text of economic information, which includes the steps taken by Spain to become integrated in Europe. The author of the text is Marroyo Sanchez, a historian and economist. The recipient is the Spanish people, so we know that it is addressed to a community, being a public document. The aim of the paper is to show the positive effects of economic integration in Europe, enabling the modernization of the economy and becoming part of a market consisting of more than twenty countries. The historical moment in which the text is written is the current democratic era, which began after the transition. The background is the Preferential Trade Agreement signed between Spain and the EEC in 1970. The closest antecedent is the integration of Spain into the EEC, established in the Accession Treaty in 1985.
The essential idea is to study the stages of the process of EU integration, analyzing the steps that have led to changes in the Spanish economy. Also, a summary of the positive effects of integration, which continues to this day. When you start talking about a “commitment,” it alludes to when Franco tried unsuccessfully to join the EEC, which gave a negative due to the dictatorial nature of the Franco regime, to which is added the fact that Spain was an economically backward country. The first negotiations date to 1962, but not until 1970 when it achieved the first treaty, the “Preferential Trade Agreement” (which gave privileges in trade with Europe). In 1979, talks resumed under the rule of Calvo Sotelo and more so with Felipe Gonzalez as president. French opposition delayed the entry into the EEC, as Spain could harm the interests of French agriculture. The greatest support for Spain came from Germany, and on June 12, 1985, Spain signed the Treaty of Accession to the EEC, which became effective January 1, 1986.
Then it speaks of a “package,” including economic measures and conditions necessary for political union. The most important institutions of the EU are the European Parliament, representing the citizens of member countries and developing laws; the EU Council, consisting of ministers from member countries; the European Commission, composed of commissioners and a president representing the EU externally; the Supreme Court, which interprets the laws of the EU; and the European Council, regular meetings of the Head of State or Government. Spain should standardize its production structures with a competitive industry, shut down polluting industries, contain inflation, contain the deficit and public debt, and apply low interest rates.
The “barriers” cited are due to the seven-year period to phase out tariffs levied on goods entering Spain, to freedom of movement. Spain will be imposed on the common external tariff levied on goods entering the EU that do not belong to this organization. When it speaks of a “model castizo,” it is because Spain had developed a protectionist economic model, making it difficult to enter Spain for goods through high tariffs to keep foreign products from competing with domestic products. This pattern was broken in 1985, the year in which the Accession Treaty was signed, forcing Spain to open foreign markets, especially markets of the EEC member countries, having a liberalized economy.
There is also talk of “protectionism” in effect during the Franco regime, which was left by the Stabilization Plan (1959) closer to Europe, opening up foreign trade and abandoning self-sufficiency. Spain was integrated into international markets. The Stabilization Plan aimed above all at the devaluation of the peseta, increasing exports, attracting foreign investments, etc. Many of these goals were met, and the Spanish economy moved away from autarky and isolation.
When it speaks of a “single act,” it is because in 1986, the Single European Act was signed, completing the internal market by ensuring the free movement of persons, goods, capital, and services. It went from a customs union to a market created by the EEC member countries. In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty was signed, which created the EU with two objectives: political union and the establishment of economic and monetary union. On January 1, 2002, the European currency became the euro.
1978 Spanish Constitution
The 1978 Spanish Constitution is a legal document containing articles currently in force. The recipients of this document are the whole of Spanish society, as the Constitution stands as the law of laws, the first law, which articulates the new political scheme of the Spanish state. Noting the most important features, we highlight the recognition of a new state based on the monarchical form and democracy, established in its first article, advocating freedom, justice, equality, and political pluralism. The Constitution also returns sovereignty to the Spanish people and sets out the parliamentary monarchy.
In short, the articles present a special emphasis on aspects related to the state form, the inalienable rights of the Spanish, and the new territorial administration of the state, established in different articles. It very clearly refers to the indissolubility of Spain, Article 2, while recognizing the right of regions to develop autonomous status to ensure and facilitate self-government within the constitutional framework. Articles 6 and 16 provide for the recognition, among other rights, of political pluralism within the party framework and a series of citizens’ inherent rights such as freedom of religion, freedom of ideology, etc. The separation of church and state is also important, establishing a framework of recognition for all.
The territorial administration of the state is reflected in Articles 137 and 147, where the clear intention of decentralization of the state is marked in the recognition of autonomy, not only of the community but also of their local institutions, and establishes the terms and conditions to access or modify the various statutes that are developed, all within the framework established by the constitutional document.
The 1978 Constitution is the result of a broad consensus among political forces after the 1977 elections saw the need to provide the country with a constitutional text that articulated the peaceful coexistence of the Spanish. Individuals from different political parties were involved in drafting the Constitution, notably members of the UCD and PSOE. At first, an important point to start the constitutional path was marked by the very form of state, monarchy or republic, but both socialists and communists accepted the monarchical form without too many problems. The role played by two leading political figures of the transition, Fernando Abril and Alfonso Guerra, took the constitutional project on track, reaching the necessary agreements that reduced tensions.
The result was that in July 1978, the Congress of Deputies approved the constitutional text with a large majority, from the right represented by Fraga to the left of the Communists in Santiago Carrillo. Only a few extremists, both on the left and right, opposed it, along with the Basque nationalists, with one abstention (Basque) and others with negative feedback. After this vote in Congress, both chambers – House and Senate – voted overwhelmingly. The constitutional text was definitively endorsed by the Spanish in December 1978.
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 is a basic document of Spanish society that has served to transform the political framework inherited from the Franco regime, to promote reconciliation between the Spanish, and to mark the path of progress and integration into the world of a country that, in 1975, at the death of General Franco, still maintained political structures based on the results of the civil war. To conclude, the 1978 Constitution laid the foundation for further democratic development where living together in freedom, plural democratic alternation in power, the recognition of trade unions, and the new territorial state administration have given Spain the longest period of democratic stability and economic development in its history, being a constitutional text agreed upon by an overwhelming majority of Spanish society.