40th anniversary of the Accession of Spain and Portugal to the European Communities

January 01, 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the accession of Spain and Portugal to the European Communities. The 2 future Member States submitted their formal applications for membership in March 1977 for Portugal and July 1977 for Spain.  The signature of the accession of Spain and Portugal to the EC comes after 8 years of negotiations, on 12 June 1985. For Spain, it took place in Madrid at a ceremony at the Royal Palace and the signature of Portugal’s accession to the EC took place in Lisbon, in the Monastery of the Jéronimites, on the same day.