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Local Spain
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Spain
How joining the EU 40 years ago catapulted Spain into modernity
Forty years ago to the day, on 12th June 1985, at 8.53 p.m. to be exact, an event took place that changed the course of Spanish history: the signing of the Treaty of Accession of Spain to the European Economic Community (EEC), as it was known then, now the European Union. This presented a seismic shift in Spanish relations with the world, signalling the end of the country's isolationist and dictatorial past and a turn towards democracy and modernity. Spain's accession to the EU During the Franco dictatorship, however, Spain did manage to make some inroads into the international community. The signing of a 1953 agreement for the United States to establish military bases on Spanish soil reduced isolationism, and Ministers in the Franco regime increasingly realised that opening the country to foreign markets was necessary and, in this sense, the EEC seemed an obvious target. However, early members of the European project insisted that Spain could never become a full member unless it was a democracy. In February 1962, the first step was taken when Franco asked the EEC to open negotiations for Spain's possible accession on purely economic terms. Again Spain was told that economic integration was plausible, but that political negotiations could not start until Spain became a democracy. 'What was very beneficial for Spain was that the response was cordial,' historian and writer Julio Crespo MacLennan told 'The letter said that Spain could not join because it was not a democracy, but that they were open to establishing a commercial relationship. This was an incentive for Spain because the response was not entirely negative.' Two years later, in 1964, the regime insisted again and the EEC agreed to establish what they called 'exploratory talks', which culminated six years later, in 1970, with the signing of the Preferential Trade Agreement, which consisted mainly of mutual reductions of tariffs. However, the deal again made clear that this was the most that Francoist Spain could ever hope to obtain from Europe and that only a democratic transition would open up the possibility of full membership. Franco died on 20th November 1975 and Juan Carlos I became head of state. In just a year and a half, Spain went from being a dictatorship to holding its first free elections in over 40 years in June 1977. The government that emerged from those elections, with Adolfo Suárez as president, made Spain's entry into the EEC a priority, which was now growing in members. At its first Council of Ministers meeting on 22 July 1977, the new government approved the decision to formally request EEC membership, which this time received a favourable response. However, early optimism faded due to the economic and political context in Spain in 1979 and 1980. Crises like the oil crisis, instability in the Suárez government, the so-called 'years of lead' by Basque separatists ETA and an attempted coup d'état in February 1981 slowed the process down as Spanish democracy teetered and Europe watched on. On top of this, some EEC states, notably France and Italy, weren't keen to allow the rival Spanish economy into the community. However, the election of François Mitterrand as President of France, Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl as Chancellor in Germany, and, above all, the absolute majority won by Felipe González's PSOE in October 1982, finally paved the way for Spain's entry into the EEC. In 1985, serious negotiations began on agriculture, fisheries and creating a special arrangement for the Canary Islands. The agreement was finalised on 29 March of that year, with some specific issues on wine and agriculture ongoing, later resolved with bilateral talks with the French in June. Negotiations came to a successful conclusion and Spain and Portugal became members of the EEC. The symbolic signing of the Treaty of Accession, first held in Lisbon on the morning of 12 June 1985 and then in Madrid in the afternoon, took place at the Royal Palace and was attended by the then President of the European Commission, Jacques Delors, and King Juan Carlos I. The text was later ratified by the Spanish Parliament, and on 1 January 1986, Spain and Portugal officially joined the EEC, bringing an end to more than eight years of negotiations. The impact on modern Spain At the signing ceremony, Prime Minister González said that: 'For Spain, this event marks the culmination of a process of overcoming our isolation and participating in a common destiny with the rest of the countries of Western Europe.' In many ways, Spain's accession to the EEC was the key step in modernising the country and moving from dictatorship to democracy. It represented an opening up to Europe and the world after so many decades of isolationism. Some say it was the most important event in Spain in the entire 20th century. Former Vice-President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas, told Spanish state broadcaster RTVE that 'The starting point for this is that Spain, like my country, Greece, saw accession as a winning bet on modernity. It was a historic event. I doubt that in the 20th century, Spain and Greece [which joined the EEC in 1981] experienced anything as momentous as accession, from a peripheral country to a central one.' The 1990s further advanced this modernisation process, as Spain received significant European funds that enabled the development of infrastructure and modernisation of the country. In 1992, two major events symbolised this leap towards modernity and announced Spain's arrival on the world stage: the Barcelona Olympic Games and the Seville Universal Exposition. La Expo. Hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona was another event that put Spain on the world stage. (Photo by MICHEL GANGNE / AFP) The Maastricht Treaty of that same year marked a decisive step towards the creation of the European Union and the future single currency, the Euro. Now Spain is the fourth largest economy in the EuroZone, its strong agricultural sector means that parts of the country are known as the 'Orchard of Europe', the most popular holiday destination among many member states, and has an increasing political role on the continent. Since joining the EU in 1986, Spain has gone from being a net recipient of European funds – receiving up to 0.8 percent of its GDP in aid – to becoming a net contributor in recent years, mainly because it has not used all the European funds it has received. In 2023, it contributed more than €13.5 billion to the EU budget and received around €12.1 billion, although it has been one of the largest beneficiaries of the Next Generation fund, with almost €48 billion as of 2024. At the same time, Spanish GDP has grown significantly: from around €346 billion in 1986 to more than €1.5 trillion in 2024, reflecting an economic modernisation facilitated, in part, by the political modernisation that enabled ECC membership in the first place.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Vitoria-Gasteiz is better for Basque pintxos than San Sebastian
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Sitting at the smart, horseshoe bar of El Toloño, veteran head chef Josu Armiño is letting me into a secret. 'We've got something that I think other places don't have, and that's the simplicity of the way we use ingredients,' he says, sporting pristine chef's whites and a slightly mischievous smile. 'For me, the most important thing is the quality of the produce we have here.' In the Basque capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz, El Toloño is one of the most locally revered pintxos bars — and for good reason. 'It's not about creating things with foams and all that,' Josu goes on to explain. 'It's about simplicity and building on the traditions of our grandparents' cooking,' he says. 'We add a touch of glamour and a bit more warmth and personality, but it's always on a base of traditional cooking. And I think that's the secret of what we do here in Vitoria and in the Basque country.' Sitting under a neoclassical, 19th-century colonnade on the edge of Vitoria's pedestrianised main square, Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, award-winning El Toloño is a key stop for locals out for a poteo — the pintxos equivalent of a pub crawl. It's a Basque tradition I'm here to try for myself. On El Toloño's bar counter, each delicate pintxo certainly looks like it'll live up to Josu's description. I decide to start with the gilda. Arguably the most famous of all Basque pintxos, it's made up of a Cantabrian anchovy skewered onto a cocktail stick between a plump, green manzanilla olive and a pickled green guindilla pepper. The gilda was named after Rita Hayworth's character in the eponymous 1946 film noir, which, at the time of its release, was considered so risque that it was banned by Spain's Francoist regime. Conceived as a homage to her punchy character, the gilda's combination of slightly bitter, fruity olive, salty anchovy and spicy guindilla is anything but subtle. It's the perfect opener to awaken my palate — especially when paired with a glass of txakoli, the Basque Country's signature dry yet refreshingly fruity white wine. Josu pours it from a great height with a theatrical flourish, as is tradition. By the time I've finished, the bar, with its elegant mix of slate-toned walls and black-and-white floor tiles, has filled up with middle-aged men in puffer jackets and smartly dressed businesswomen. Their lively chatter mingles with the clanking of beer glasses and coffee cups. Despite its popularity, there's still nowhere near the amount of elbow jostling you'll find in many bars in nearby San Sebastián or even Bilbao, both an hour's drive north to the coast. While glamorous San Sebastián may have risen to stardom thanks to its pintxos and fine dining culture, not to mention its superb beachside location, those in the know will tell you that Vitoria is the secret jewel in the Basque Country's culinary crown. Its inland location means that it benefits from both easy access to seafood from the Bay of Biscay and exceptional beef, vegetables and fruit from the countryside. It's been the Basque capital since 1980, when many of Spain's regional boundaries were drawn up in the aftermath of the Franco dictatorship. Yet its tourism profile has suffered from the fact that it has neither a coastal location nor international airport. In the spirit of the poteo, I take a short walk from El Toloño past the belle époque townhouses and tram tracks that flow down Vitoria's tree-lined avenues. My next stop is PerretxiCo, another bar that's won numerous awards in the Basque Country's pintxos competitions. These annual events see bars vie with one another in an effort to create the tastiest and most innovative pintxos. One previous winner I'm intrigued to try is PerretxiCo's La Vacuna, which translates as 'the vaccine'. It's a beef meatball of sorts, encased in a shell of crisp batter and topped with flying-fish roe. The dish arrives at my table alongside a small plastic syringe filled with a beefy jus, which I'm instructed to inject into the meatball. I do as I'm told, and find the intense, almost Bovril-like gravy adds a deliciously comforting warmth to the mix of crispy outer coating and finely textured minced meat. Taking a quick break from the kitchen in his black chef's apron, PerretxiCo's head chef Josean Merino tells me that La Vacuna was invented during the pandemic, 'to add a touch of humour'. It's also about balance. Josean says: 'I always say that a pintxo is one of the most complicated dishes to prepare, because you have to concentrate everything into one or two bites and get an almost surgical balance between the textures and flavours.' As the sound of church bells marks the hour, I leave PerretxiCo to head into the steep, narrow, medieval streets of Vitoria's Old Quarter, high on a hilltop. Not far from the magnificent, 13th-century gothic cathedral and elegant, neoclassical palacios and plazas, I find El Portalón, one of the city's most famous restaurants. Set in a large, half-timbered house that was once a 15th-century staging post and inn, El Portalón also offers its own prize-winning pintxos. One of its signature dishes is the octopus carpaccio — tender slices of octopus lightly dusted with sweet paprika, served with dried red peppers on a small piece of rustic, home-baked farmhouse bread. I put in my order and pull up a chair in the cobbled entrance yard, originally used as the building's stables. 'Going out to eat is a big part of life here in Vitoria,' says El Portalón's manager and head chef Alberto Ortiz de Zárate, a youthful looking 50-year-old who comes to say hello. He first joined his father as a commis chef in El Portalón's kitchen some 18 years ago. 'People appreciate good food and don't mind paying a little extra for it, so restaurants can spend more on the best produce, resulting in a higher-quality range of dishes,' he says, trying to put his finger on what makes Vitoria's food scene — and that of the broader Basque Country — so special. 'It's a cultural act — spending time at the table with friends and family, and enjoying it. It's not just about the food. It's about being with the people you care about — spending less time on your mobile phone and more time appreciating life.' Published in the June 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
National Geographic
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
This Basque city is known for pintxos—and it's not San Sebastian
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Sitting at the smart, horseshoe bar of El Toloño, veteran head chef Josu Armiño is letting me into a secret. 'We've got something that I think other places don't have, and that's the simplicity of the way we use ingredients,' he says, sporting pristine chef's whites and a slightly mischievous smile. 'For me, the most important thing is the quality of the produce we have here.' In the Basque capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz, El Toloño is one of the most locally revered pintxos bars — and for good reason. 'It's not about creating things with foams and all that,' Josu goes on to explain. 'It's about simplicity and building on the traditions of our grandparents' cooking,' he says. 'We add a touch of glamour and a bit more warmth and personality, but it's always on a base of traditional cooking. And I think that's the secret of what we do here in Vitoria and in the Basque country.' 'It's not about creating things with foams and all that,' explains chef Josu Armiño, who runs El Toloño. 'It's about simplicity and building on the traditions of our grandparents' cooking,' he says. Photograph by Markel Redondo Sitting under a neoclassical, 19th-century colonnade on the edge of Vitoria's pedestrianised main square, Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, award-winning El Toloño is a key stop for locals out for a poteo — the pintxos equivalent of a pub crawl. It's a Basque tradition I'm here to try for myself. On El Toloño's bar counter, each delicate pintxo certainly looks like it'll live up to Josu's description. I decide to start with the gilda. Arguably the most famous of all Basque pintxos, it's made up of a Cantabrian anchovy skewered onto a cocktail stick between a plump, green manzanilla olive and a pickled green guindilla pepper. The gilda was named after Rita Hayworth's character in the eponymous 1946 film noir, which, at the time of its release, was considered so risque that it was banned by Spain's Francoist regime. Conceived as a homage to her punchy character, the gilda's combination of slightly bitter, fruity olive, salty anchovy and spicy guindilla is anything but subtle. It's the perfect opener to awaken my palate — especially when paired with a glass of txakoli, the Basque Country's signature dry yet refreshingly fruity white wine. Josu pours it from a great height with a theatrical flourish, as is tradition. By the time I've finished, the bar, with its elegant mix of slate-toned walls and black-and-white floor tiles, has filled up with middle-aged men in puffer jackets and smartly dressed businesswomen. Their lively chatter mingles with the clanking of beer glasses and coffee cups. Arguably the most famous of all Basque pintxos, it's made up of a Cantabrian anchovy skewered onto a cocktail stick between a plump, green manzanilla olive and a pickled green guindilla pepper. Photograph by Alamy, Hemis The award-winning El Toloño is a key stop for a poteo — the pintxos equivalent of a pub crawl. Find the local favourite under a neoclassical, 19th-century colonnade on the edge of Vitoria's main square, Plaza de la Virgen Blanca. Photograph by Markel Redondo Despite its popularity, there's still nowhere near the amount of elbow jostling you'll find in many bars in nearby San Sebastián or even Bilbao, both an hour's drive north to the coast. While glamorous San Sebastián may have risen to stardom thanks to its pintxos and fine dining culture, not to mention its superb beachside location, those in the know will tell you that Vitoria is the secret jewel in the Basque Country's culinary crown. Its inland location means that it benefits from both easy access to seafood from the Bay of Biscay and exceptional beef, vegetables and fruit from the countryside. It's been the Basque capital since 1980, when many of Spain's regional boundaries were drawn up in the aftermath of the Franco dictatorship. Yet its tourism profile has suffered from the fact that it has neither a coastal location nor international airport. In the spirit of the poteo, I take a short walk from El Toloño past the belle époque townhouses and tram tracks that flow down Vitoria's tree-lined avenues. My next stop is PerretxiCo, another bar that's won numerous awards in the Basque Country's pintxos competitions. These annual events see bars vie with one another in an effort to create the tastiest and most innovative pintxos. One previous winner I'm intrigued to try is PerretxiCo's La Vacuna, which translates as 'the vaccine'. It's a beef meatball of sorts, encased in a shell of crisp batter and topped with flying-fish roe. The dish arrives at my table alongside a small plastic syringe filled with a beefy jus, which I'm instructed to inject into the meatball. I do as I'm told, and find the intense, almost Bovril-like gravy adds a deliciously comforting warmth to the mix of crispy outer coating and finely textured minced meat. While San Sebastián may have risen to stardom thanks to its pintxos and fine dining culture, those in the know will tell you that Vitoria is the secret jewel in the Basque Country's culinary crown. Taking a quick break from the kitchen in his black chef's apron, PerretxiCo's head chef Josean Merino tells me that La Vacuna was invented during the pandemic, 'to add a touch of humour'. It's also about balance. Josean says: 'I always say that a pintxo is one of the most complicated dishes to prepare, because you have to concentrate everything into one or two bites and get an almost surgical balance between the textures and flavours.' As the sound of church bells marks the hour, I leave PerretxiCo to head into the steep, narrow, medieval streets of Vitoria's Old Quarter, high on a hilltop. Not far from the magnificent, 13th-century gothic cathedral and elegant, neoclassical palacios and plazas, I find El Portalón, one of the city's most famous restaurants. Set in a large, half-timbered house that was once a 15th-century staging post and inn, El Portalón also offers its own prize-winning pintxos. One of its signature dishes is the octopus carpaccio — tender slices of octopus lightly dusted with sweet paprika, served with dried red peppers on a small piece of rustic, home-baked farmhouse bread. I put in my order and pull up a chair in the cobbled entrance yard, originally used as the building's stables. 'Going out to eat is a big part of life here in Vitoria,' says El Portalón's manager and head chef Alberto Ortiz de Zárate, a youthful looking 50-year-old who comes to say hello. He first joined his father as a commis chef in El Portalón's kitchen some 18 years ago. 'People appreciate good food and don't mind paying a little extra for it, so restaurants can spend more on the best produce, resulting in a higher-quality range of dishes,' he says, trying to put his finger on what makes Vitoria's food scene — and that of the broader Basque Country — so special. 'It's a cultural act — spending time at the table with friends and family, and enjoying it. It's not just about the food. It's about being with the people you care about — spending less time on your mobile phone and more time appreciating life.' Bilbao is the nearest airport to Vitoria-Gasteiz. Buses run regularly from Bilbao city centre to Vitoria and take about an hour. Stay at the smart, centrally located NH Canciller Ayala hotel, less than a 10-minute walk from the medieval Old Quarter. From €120 (£103), B&B. This story was created with the support of the Vitoria Gasteiz Tourist Board and The Spanish Tourist Office. Published in the June 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain returns artwork seized during Civil War
MADRID (Reuters) -Spain on Thursday returned paintings belonging to a former Madrid mayor that were seized for their protection during the 1936-39 Civil War and never returned under Francisco Franco's dictatorship. The seven paintings had been kept in several museums throughout Spain, including the Prado Museum in Madrid, where the handover ceremony to the family of Pedro Rico, Madrid's mayor as the Civil War broke out, took place on Thursday evening. In 2022, the Prado published a list of artworks that had been seized during the war and set up a research project to track down their legitimate owners. The government has identified more than 6,000 items, including jewellery, ceramics and textiles, as well as some paintings, sculptures and furniture, which were safeguarded during the war by Republican forces fighting Franco's Nationalists and never returned by Francoist institutions when he came to power. "It's a very important moment of justice and reparation that the Spanish government is doing for their families," said Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun. The paintings returned to Rico's family nine decades later were mainly scenes of everyday life by 19th-century artists such as Eugenio Lucas and his son Lucas Villaamil. Francisca Rico said she was very moved by the restitution of the paintings belonging to her grandfather, who was mayor between 1931-1934 and then in 1936 and who died in exile in France. "(They're ) finally doing what should have been done long ago," she said.
Local Spain
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Spain
Why is Francoist symbolism still so visible across Spain?
From imposing neoclassical arches to quiet plazas named after regime loyalists, remnants of Franco's nearly four-decade rule are still etched into the public landscape. Even some bars and restaurants still display his image, celebrating the man whose regime executed, imprisoned and silenced dissenters during Spain's 1936-1939 civil war and the dictatorship that followed until his death in 1975. "There are more than 6,000 of these symbols still standing," said Eduardo España, co-founder of the website Deberia Desaparecer ("It Should Disappear"), created in 2022 to track what he calls illegal vestiges of the dictatorship. "It's incomprehensible that a democratic country would preserve such monuments," he added, calling the figure "staggering". Standing near Madrid's 50-metre (164-foot) tall Victory Arch, built in the 1950s to celebrate the victory of Franco's fascist-backed nationalists in the civil war, España points to what he sees as an unresolved trauma. "This isn't just a piece of architecture. It's a monument to repression," the 34-year-old said. The arch, located in a busy roundabout, is one of the most prominent symbols of the Franco regime still standing, along with the grandiose Valley of the Fallen, a vast underground basilica and mass burial complex for Franco's supporters killed in combat. The so-called Pyramid of the Italians, a mausoleum built between 1938 and 1939 in Burgos province to bury the remains of Italian soldiers who died during the Spanish Civil War. (Photo by CESAR MANSO / AFP) Franco's remains relocated After Franco's death, Spain underwent a transition to democracy. But a sweeping amnesty law passed by parliament in 1977 shielded both former regime officials and anti-Franco activists from prosecution. Many symbols of the dictatorship remained untouched. Efforts to reckon with the past have gained traction in recent decades. In 2007, then-Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero introduced the "Historical Memory Law", requiring public institutions to remove Francoist iconography from public spaces. That momentum gathered pace in 2018 when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, also a Socialist, took office. The following year, his government exhumed Franco's remains from the Valley of the Fallen and relocated them to a more discreet family vault to prevent his tomb from becoming a shrine for far-right supporters. In 2022, a new "Democratic Memory Law" was introduced, to honour victims of the dictatorship and pressure local governments to eliminate regime symbols. Across Spain, change began to take hold. In the northwestern region of Galicia and the Canary Islands, crosses honouring Francoist soldiers have been removed. Under pressure from public prosecutors, the northern city of Santander renamed 18 streets tied to the regime. And in the southern city of Málaga, an inventory of Francoist symbols is underway. Spanish born Chinese man Chen Xianwei poses in front of his Franco-themed bar "Una grande libre" in Madrid. (Photo by Pierre-Philippe MARCOU / AFP) 'Think for themselves' Not everyone agrees with this removal campaign. Among the best-known dissenters is Chen Xianwei, a Chinese immigrant who runs a bar in central Madrid named "Una, grande y libre" or "One, great and free" -- Franco's motto for Spain. "Governments shouldn't tell people what to think," said Chen, who moved to Spain in 1999. His establishment, filled with busts, flags and posters glorifying the dictator, stands as a controversial tribute to the past. The law is "manipulating history", Chen said. "People can think for themselves." Some historians, too, are uneasy with the push to erase symbols. They argue for a more nuanced, educational approach. "Covering up the remains of a painful past isn't the best way to process or understand it," said Daniel Rico, an art history professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and author of "Who's Afraid of Francisco Franco?" "Removing monuments as if we were children afraid of a coat of arms seems authoritarian," he said. Rico advocates contextualisation over erasure -- installing plaques that explain the history rather than scrubbing it from public view, for example. España disagrees, arguing that these symbols cause ongoing harm. "History should be taught in schools" and not in public spaces, he said. "If we stop teaching, that's when the memory of these events disappears."
