The European Union (EU) is an organisation open to the world, founded on shared values ​​of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Its strategic objectives include the consolidation of a stable and united Europe, with its own voice on the international stage.

The European Union's responsibilities and influence in the world are growing, in line with its economic, commercial and diplomatic weight: it is the world's leading commercial power, has a reference currency and is the main donor of humanitarian aid.

The European Communities began their journey in the 1950s without the presence of Spain, which was initially excluded due to the nature of its political system at that time. With the transition to democracy in Spain, a process of rapprochement and homologation with Europe began, which culminated in our entry into the European Communities in 1986. Previously, Spain had requested its entry in 1962 and had concluded a Preferential Trade Agreement with the Common Market in 1970, which allowed the Spanish economy to gradually integrate into the Community.

With the request of the Spanish Government to the Council of Ministers of the European Communities on 26 July 1977, the process that would culminate in Spain's entry into the European Economic Community was formally initiated. The Government of Adolfo Suárez placed relations with Europe among its priorities and opened a direct and decisive dialogue that led, on 5 February 1979, to the opening of negotiations for accession. The Governments of Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo and Felipe González directed the negotiations with broad parliamentary support.

The incorporation of a large economy such as Spain's, which still has a certain disparity in development with Europe, necessarily raised questions of mutual adaptation that were resolved after seven years of negotiations and which involved the establishment of transitional periods for the full incorporation of Spain into the Community's agricultural and fishing policies and in matters such as customs union, monopolies or services, in order to soften the impact of our accession on the Spanish economic scheme.

Finally, on 12 June 1985, Spain signed, at the same time as Portugal, the Treaty of Accession to the European Communities . Meeting in the Hall of Columns of the Royal Palace in Madrid, the President of the Government (Felipe González), the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Fernando Morán), the Secretary of State for Relations with the European Communities (Manuel Marín) and the ambassador permanent representative to the European Communities (Gabriel Ferrán) signed the historic document, which would be ratified unanimously by the Congress of Deputies.