40 years ago, on 1st January 1986, Spain and Portugal joined the EU. An article in Euronews reflects on the changes that both countries have seen since then.
Here in Spain Franco had died only 11 years earlier and the economy was in serious trouble, with GDP of barely €226 billion. More than 2 million people were out of work giving an unemployment rate of 21%, and inflation had reached 20% in recent years following the oil crisis of 1973.
But 40 years on, Spain has transitioned from being a developing economy to becoming the fourth-largest in the Union. Unemployment, while still a problem, has fallen to 11% and the economy closed 2025 with a GDP at almost €1.5 trillion, so 6x what it once was.
The article points out the extent to which European funds played a significant role in this change. Since 1986, this country has received more than €185 billion, which has been used to “build motorways, modernise the countryside, finance employment programmes and support innovation”. It concludes “without these resources, convergence with Europe would have been much slower and more painful”.
Read the full story in Euronews here.