Hispania Ante Portas: Change and Continuity of the Federal Republic of Germany’s Position towards Spain’s Accession to the European Communities (1977-1985)

  • José Manuel Sáenz Rotko Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ced.2367
Keywords: German-Spanish relations, German foreign policy, European Communities, Southern enlargement, Spanish transition

Abstract

On the long and difficult road of negotiations towards the accession of Spain to the European Communities, Germany fulfilled a decisive role as a firm advocate of Spanish aspirations as well as a persistent facilitator of political agreements between member states that would allow finally the Iberian state to join the EC. This paper aims at detailing the motives of the German attitude, rooted in the definition of the European project as fundamental element of its national interest. Based on numerous, unedited archive material it will draw a detailed analytic description of the German position along the eight years of the negotiation process highlighting the elements of change and continuity which resulted not only from the evolution of Spain’s transition to democracy but also from changing leadership in Bonn and the dynamics and interests of member states. The activism of the Kohl-led government from 1983 onwards, both on bilateral level as well as multilateraly within the Council, will be particularly addressed as it contributed decisively to overcome multiple hurdles that threatened to significantly postpone the successful completion of the negotiations, even to make Spain’s European project fail.

Received: 22 July 2021
Accepted: 04 October 2021

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Author Biography

José Manuel Sáenz Rotko, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain

He studied Theology and Hispanic Studies in Vienna, Graz and Salamanca. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations by the Complutense University of Madrid and a PhD in Theology by the University of Graz (Church History-International History). Since 2002 he is linked to the Universidad Pontificia Comillas where he is full professor at the Department of International Relations. From 2009 to 2019 he directed the BA degrees in International Relations, Translation and In­terpreting and Global Communication. He has been visiting scholar at the Department of Contemporary History at the Catholic University of Eichstätt (2019-2020). His teaching, research and publications (monographs, collective books and articles in specialized magazines) focus on 20th Cen­tury International History with a specific emphasis on German-Spanish re­lations, European integration and foreign policy. Member of the GHistRI (Spanish Inter-University Research Group on History of International Relations) and the CEHRI (Spanish Commission on History of International Relations) and currently President fo the CEUTRI, the Spanish Association of Universities with degrees in International Relations.

Published
2022-05-23
How to Cite
Sáenz Rotko, José Manuel. 2022. “Hispania Ante Portas: Change and Continuity of the Federal Republic of Germany’s Position towards Spain’s Accession to the European Communities (1977-1985)”. Deusto Journal of European Studies, no. 66 (May), 29-61. https://doi.org/10.18543/ced.2367.
Issue
No. 66 (2022)
Section
Articles

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