Fifty years of the Spanish Transition: Lessons learned from the Modernisation and Europeanisation of Spain
The conference is fully booked.
This year marks fifty years since the beginning of Spain’s democratic transition – a significant historical milestone that reshaped the country’s political, social, and international trajectory. To reflect on this period and its long-term impact, the Embassy of Spain in the Netherlands, the University of Amsterdam, and the Clingendael Institute, in collaboration with the Spanish Ministries of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory and Foreign Affairs, are pleased to host a conference on the lessons learned from the modernisation and Europeanisation of Spain.
The event brings together voices from politics, academia, and civil society to explore the domestic and European dimensions of Spain’s transition. It offers an opportunity to revisit key moments in Spain’s modernisation and Europeanisation, and to consider how these experiences may resonate with current developments in Europe. As questions of democratic resilience and EU enlargement continue to shape the European agenda, this reflection on Spain’s path provides a valuable lens through which to examine both historical and contemporary challenges.
Programme
13:15-13:45 | Walk-in with coffee
13:45-14:00 | Opening remarks
- Fernando Mariano Sampredo Marcos, Secretary of State for the European Union, Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Monika Sie Dhian Ho, General Director of the Clingendael Institute
14:00-14:15 | Keynote by Enrique Barón, former President of the European Parliament
14:15-14:30 | First responses
- Manuela Carmena, former Mayor of Madrid
- Zoé de Kerangat, PhD researcher in historic memory
14:30-15:00 | Q&A with audience: 50 years of liberty & historic memory
- Enrique Barón, former President of the European Parliament
- Manuela Carmena, former Mayor of Madrid
- Zoé de Kerangat, PhD researcher in historic memory
- Moderator: Harry Rijnen, former correspondent
15:00-15:30 | Coffee break
15:30-16:30 | Panel: What can we learn from Spain’s accession into, and membership of the EU? Looking ahead towards future EU enlargement.
- Short introduction by Otto Holman, Associate Professor of International Relations and European Integration Studies, University of Amsterdam
- Stefanie Massink, Assistant Professor of History of International Relations, University of Utrecht
- Pol Morillas, Director of CIDOB, Barcelona Centre for International Affairs
- Moderator: Saskia Hollander, Senior Research Fellow, the Clingendael Institute
16:30-17:30 | Networking drinks
