Europe's evolving economic identity: Spain's role

Abstract

Since entering the EC in January 1986, Spain has influenced Community life in a range of policy sectors, being particularly engaged in debates over agriculture, structural and cohesion funds, fisheries, external relations with Latin America and the Mediterranean, the concept of European citizenship, the Schengen provisions and asylum matters. After a difficult process of nominal convergence, Spain secured entry into the euro in January 1999 and has sought further economic integration in areas such as fiscal harmonization. This is part of its broader strategy of seeking to avoid enlargement leading to a dilution of European integration. It is in this context that Spain has pressed for a larger EU budget and institutional reforms. More recently, as the Aznar government has grown in confidence, it has sought more eagerly to influence European economic policy, with the aim of Europeanizing its own domestic free market reforms in areas such as privatization, competitiveness and tax cutting.