Uría Menéndez commemorates the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Accession of Spain and Portugal to the European Union
June 5, 2025To celebrate 40 years of Spain and Portugal being part of the EU, Uría Menéndez hosted a commemorative event at its Madrid office this week. The event marked their full inclusion in the EU in 1986.
It was held at the firm’s Madrid auditorium and brought together leading figures from politics, law and academia. Jesús Remón, Uría Menéndez’s senior partner, was the first to speak, he commented that joining the EU was a key factor in bringing about the Spanish Transition and 1978 Constitution. He described Spain’s accession to the EU as a “national objective”, and said that it was the final step to achieve democracy, which would help Spain and Portugal leave their shell and share a common future with Europe.
Mr Remón’s speech was followed by a conversation between Felipe González, Spain’s Prime Minister at the time the country joined the EU, and Rocío Martínez-Sampere, Director of the Felipe González Foundation. The theme of the conversation was “Spain and Portugal in constructing Europe”. They reflected on how important European integration was for Spain and Portugal historically, as well as the current challenges facing the European project. Mr González said that the treaty negotiations were a “national task” that involved all the main political, economic and social actors. They also pointed out that it is very important to create an exciting narrative for Europe that younger generations can get on board with, and that in the unstable and multipolar world we are currently living in, Europe has to take its destiny into its own hands.
The day ended with a debate about how EU law affects national legal systems, focusing particularly on Spain’s and Portugal’s contributions over the past 40 years. Xavier Codina, a public and EU law partner at the firm, chaired the roundtable, which was moderated by Miguel Martínez Gimeno, another partner of the firm and a former lawyer at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Three leading European court judges also took part: Rosario Silva de Lapuerta, a judge and former Vice-President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (2003–21); Pedro Cruz Villalón, a former judge and president of the Spanish Constitutional Court and former Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (2009–15); and Miguel Sampol Pucurull, a judge at the General Court of the European Union since 2019.
Salvador Sánchez-Terán, the firm’s managing partner, wrapped up the event by talking about how important this celebration is for Uría Menéndez. In his speech, he paid tribute to Rodrigo Uría Meruéndano, the firm’s founder, saying that he would be especially proud of this event, not only because of his strong European convictions, but also because of his role as a jurist committed to opening Spain to the world, strengthening the rule of law and promoting the international profile of the legal profession.