On 27 September 1990, in Strasbourg, Felipe González Márquez, Spanish Prime Minister, refers to the transition to democracy in Spain as a precedent for the transitions to democracy that are beginning in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, while emphasising the contextual differences between countries, regimes and eras. He then discusses the irreversible nature of the development of European integration, despite the difficult economic circumstances, and looks forward to significant progress being made in the years to come.

In this interview, Carlos María Bru Purón, Chairman of the Spanish Federal Council of the European Movement from 1986 to 1996 and since 2004, speaks about the transfer of national sovereignty to the European Union through the enlargement processes and the ‘opt-in' and ‘opt-out' systems, and also discusses strengthened cooperation and the implications of a constitutional treaty for an enlarged Europe.

In this interview, Carlos María Bru Purón, Chairman of the Spanish Federal Council of the European Movement from 1986 to 1996 and since 2004, discusses the cultural and geographical boundaries of the European Union, the role of Turkey in the Middle East and in Europe, the neighbourhood policy and the globalist vision of a ‘cosmopolitan democracy' which needs to come about through a process of ‘global regionalisation'.

In this interview, Marcelino Oreja, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and Member of the European Commission from 1994 to 1999, sees the year 1989 as a founding moment for contemporary Europe, and explains the need for justice and solidarity in order to provide opportunities for development in the new Member States from Central and Eastern Europe. Finally, he compares the European Union’s enlargement to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe with reconciliation at a European level.

In this interview, Manuel Marín, First Vice-President of the European Commission from 1993 to 1999, gives his views on the emergence of a new era following the end of the Cold War. He also compares Spain’s ‘return to Europe’ with that of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and discusses the impact on Spain, in terms of ‘budgetary solidarity’, of this enlargement to the East.

On 8 May 1998, Felipe González, Special Representative of the European Union for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (on the left), meets Hans van den Broek, Member of the European Commission responsible for External Relations.

On 22 March 2001, the Spanish newspaper El País publishes an interview with Eneko Landaburu, Director-General for Enlargement and head of the accession negotiations with the candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe, on the European Union enlargement process.

Working document published by the European University Institute in Florence in which Lorena Ruano, Doctor in International Relations, compares the problems encountered during the negotiations for the accession of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe to those currently facing Spain. The document particularly focuses on the redistribution of aid provided under the common agricultural policy.

Study by Carmela Martín, Director of the European Economy Group at the Complutense University of Madrid, and Jaime Turión, Research Assistant in the same Group, to evaluate the nature and scope for the Spanish economy of the accession of ten new Member States to the European Union.

Report drafted by the Spanish Economic and Social Council (ESC) in February 2004 in order to emphasise the possible economic and social repercussions for Spain of the enlargement of the European Union to include the countries of Eastern Europe.

Report drafted by the Spanish Economic and Social Council in January 2008 on the implications of the accession of the new Member States from Eastern Europe to the European Union. The report particularly focuses on the response to the risks forecast in a report previously published in 2004, and the progress made with regard to the new opportunities presented.

On 16 April 2003, in Athens, José María Aznar (on the left), Spanish Prime Minister, and Ana de Palacio y de Valle Lersundi, Spanish Foreign Minister, sign the Treaty of Accession of the ten new Member States to the European Union.

In June 1997, in an article published in the Spanish magazine Política Exterior, Javier Solana, NATO Secretary-General, outlines the role of the Atlantic Organisation in the world and, in particular, in Europe on the eve of the new millennium.