Spain celebrates its 30th anniversary as a member of the European Union, by Eli Tatyanova Petkova and Claudia Prieto-Puga Gonzáles.

     Last 12th June 2015, Spain commemorated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Accession Treaty of Spain to the European Communities, now the European Union.

     Representatives of major state institutions participated in the ceremony, which was held at the Royal Palace in Madrid. The European Union was represented by the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz. King Philip VI together with his father, Juan Carlos I, under whose reign the adhesion took place, hosted the celebration. All former presidents of the government:  Felipe González, José María Aznar and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, were included amongst the guests. As well, numerous representatives of the Spanish institutions and civil society attended the event.  

 
     At the ceremony, the monarch called for unity and consensus as formulas for moving towards a more integrated society in Europe. ‘Unity, consensus and democracy, enshrined in our Constitution since 1978, have been and continue to be the keys to our success in and with Europe’, he stressed at the event.
 
    ‘The years in this period’, he stated, ‘are amongst the best in the history of Spain’. ‘We’ve lived in freedom and democracy, have achieved social and economic development unprecedented and Spain, has opened to the world’, stressed the monarch. But the King also wanted to send a message for the future, stressing that Europe needs a ‘sustainable’ growth that contributes to greater social cohesion.

 
     The commemoration of the entrance of Spain in Europe has also served to highlight the differences between the two main European political families (conservatives and Social Democrats) when trying to find formulas to overcome the crisis. While the Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, stressed that Spain is the best example that the strategy to combine European solidarity with the responsibility of each Member State is working properly in order to leave the crisis behind, the former head of the Spanish government, Felipe González, and the Executive Chairman in the European Parliament, the German Social Democrat Martin Schulz, criticized that Europe's response to the crisis has led to an excessive commitment to austerity. The citizen detachment from Europe is not caused by the crisis, ‘but because of an inadequate response to the crisis’, noted González. Schulz, on the other hand, said he understood those Europeans who ‘reject a Europe that saved their banks but not its youth’. ‘I do not want that Europe either", he pointed out.
 
                         

Fonts:  
http://www.republica.com/2015/06/24/espana-celebra-el-30-aniversario-de-su-adhesion-a-la-ue/ (text)
http://img.europapress.net/fotoweb/fotonoticia_20150612142846_800.jpg (cake)
http://www.presidencia.gva.es/documents/83033465/0/30a%C3%B1osUE.jpg/f2b68855-05ff-4440-90fd-4a72cd7fb2f0?t=1433938735968 (map)
http://estatico.vozpopuli.com/upload/635707512705229122.jpg (3 presidents)
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http://cdn1.img.mundo.sputniknews.com/images/103865/57/1038655744.jpg (2 kings)  
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w9_2dzUmsrI/maxresdefault.jpg (poster 1985-2015)
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