Spain and Portugal rejoice 40 years of EU membership

His Majesty Felipe VI, King of Spain, and Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa address the Parliament 40 years after their countries joined the European Union.

Spain and Portugal signed their accession treaties to join the then-European Communities on 12 June 1985 and their membership became effective on 1 January 1986. Their integration in the European project was widely seen as a key step in full transition of the two countries to democracy, after several decades of dictatorship, which ended in 1974 in Portugal and 1975 in Spain.

The EU has further expanded since 1986, growing from 12 to 27 member states.