Spain and Portugal in the European Union: assessing the impact of regional integration

Abstract

These two volumes form part of the growing literature on the Iberian countries in the European Union (EU), released to coincide with the enlargement of the EU and after a decade and a half of membership. While both volumes deal with similar themes, there are a number of differences in both style and substance. Closa and Heywood’s jointly authored book adopts a neo-institutionalist analytical framework to study the processes of change in Spanish domestic politics, polities and institutions. For the authors, ‘Europeanisation’ is consistent with the continued independence of the nation-state to make its own choices and decisions in regard to internal concerns and external relations. The edited volume by Royo and Manuel brings together a group of Iberian scholars of distinction to review the fifteenth anniversary of Spain and Portugal’s accession to the EU, adopting an analysis that is stronger on the economic impact of EU membership. A common point of departure in both of these volumes is the recognition of European Community accession as the leitmotif of a successful transition to democracy in each country. After decades of relative isolation under authoritarian regimes, the success of processes of democratic transition in both countries paved the way for full membership of the European Community in 1986. Both Spain and Portugal shared similar hopes for what European integration would bring—with the experience of dictatorship behind them, the two countries anticipated that membership would help to strengthen the newly created democratic institutions, and to secure a place in international society, while also producing much-needed economic benefits. European Community membership offered both political and economic modernisation.