Franco\u27s Spain and the European Integration Process (1945-1975)

The Francoist dictatorship had a highly complex relationship with the European integration process started after 1945. On account of its authoritarian profile and pro-Axis policies during the Second World War, Spain was barred access to the new European institutions and organisations created in the postwar era. As a result, the Spanish regime adopted an official attitude of contempt towards the European integration process up to 1957. But the creation of the European Economic Community forced a marked change in its policies because Spain could not afford to be left out of the Common Market. The consequent search for some sort of Spanish participation in the European process was a persistent aim for the regime since February 1962 (first demand for full integration in the EEC) up to June 1970 (Preferential Agreement between Spain and the EEC). But the final aim of integration became a fantasy and wishful thinking because a persistent problem and obstacle active until 1975: the authoritarian political structure of Francoism prevented any real progress for Spanish integration into the EEC